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-. /w -I. x-< w iv X xa C3 XL. V Hi rsi T ±1 . fcS T K E E T, 



THE 



FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



A FULL AND GRAPHIC HISTORY 



OF THE 



GRMT WAR BETWEl PRUSSIA Al FRAli, 



TOGETHER WITH NUMEROUS 



THRILLING AND INTERESTING ANECDOTES, SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF THE: 
CELEBRATED STATESMEN AND GENERALS ON BOTH SIDES. 



/ 



BY PROFESSOR THEO. VON MARCKES. 

— w 



THIS WORK FULLY DIGESTS THE CAUSES LEADING TO THIS MOST REMARKABLE OF 
WARS, AND CONTAINS A THOROUGH VENTILATION OF EACH AND EVERY AC- 
TION BETWEEN THE RULERS OP BOTH POWERS, MINUTELY DESCRIBING 
EVERY BATTLE, AND IN FACT EVERY DETAIL FROM THE MEETING 
BETWEEN HIS MAJESTY, KING WILLIAM OF PRUSSIA, AND 
COUNT BENEDETTl, FRENCH AMBASSADOR AT EMS, TO THE 
SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON III, AND FINALLY 
THE ENDING OF THE WAR. 



PORTRAITS OF ALL THE GENERALS AND GREAT MEN, 

AND MANY OTHER FINE ILLUSTRATIONS. 



qu/^-^ 



PHILADELPHIA: J 

PUBLISHED BY BAECLAT & CO., 

NO. ai NORTH SEVENTMSTREET. 

I ^7 J. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, b^ 

BARCLAY & CO., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 




'y.'i/ 



'9^ 



3BSS 



THE LIB&AR't^ 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



The Franco-German War. 



Prussia and France have, for some years 
past, been apparrntlt peacefully disposed 
towards each other. There are not so many 
causes leading to this war as Napoleon 
-would have the world at large to believe. 
When the nomination of Prince Leopold, as 
King of Spain, was withdrawn, the Em- 
peror lost an available excuse for war ; but 
the clamor in France for war grew louder 
and louder, and war was certain because 
" France wanted it." 

The outcry at first seemed to be confined 
to the ministerial organs of Paris ; but as 
these became peaceable in their tone, the 
more independent organs grew warlike, and 
Napoleon having, as he supposed, stimulated 
public opinion to back him, stood prepared 
to plunge into the contest. . 

The Emperor of the French had no fur- 
ther excuse for war, unless, indeed, that 
Prussia had been biting her thumb at him ; 
but if the French people believe, with Oapu- 
let's servant, that biting of thumbs is a 
" disgrace to them if they bear it," this, 
Vfi doubt, proves to them a sufficient ex- 
cuse. 

While Napoleon had been reaching this 
resolution, not only had his cause been grow- 
ing weaker, but his difficulties were increased, 
and he stoo(] before the world in the atti- 
tude ©f a man who having first threatened 
war for an inadequate.ciiuse, finds even that 
cause taken from him, and then exclaims, 
"Never mind, I will fight, anyhow." His 
adversary, on the other hand, had conciliated 
respect by a firm and dignified bearing, a 
■courage without bluster, a resolution without 
-undue obstinacy. 

By this calm and collected attitude, 
Prussia had, moreover, gained material ad- 
vantages. She compelled France to ex- 
pose clearly her purpose of seizing the 
Rhenish frontier, and thus stimulated the 
patriotism oT the non-confederated German 
provinces, which could not then hesitate to 
join the Confederation with all their avail- 
able force. She thus gained time to complete 
her preparations for the defence of the 
Ehine. This was an advantage of the very 
■utmost importance. The whole frontier is a 
network of fortresses, upon which Prussia 
ifor vears oast has b9en lavishing money and 
exhausting the ingenuity of engmeers. The 



true policy of an invading force would have 
been to fall upon them suddenly, but the 
time for this has passed, " and the besieger 
found himself besieged." 

Napoleon the First often remarked, "A 
military blunderer is worse than a traitor," 
and the Napoleon of to-day is not like the 
first Napoleon, because he lacks military ex- 
perience, because he lacks conciseness ; in 
fact, to sum it all up, " he's alike, and yet not 
alike." 

Napoleon maintained his threatening atti- 
tude toward Prussia, and persisted in his 
offensive demands, and all the efforts of that 
country at explanation were not accepted. 

Throughout the whole affair, the attitude 
of France was that of an enraged rufBan, 
bent upon insult. To be sure, the attitude 
of Prussia was calculating and somewhat ex- 
asperating, but she has decidedly the advan- 
tage thus far in the quarrel. 

The pretext which France has used to pro- 
duce a conflict upon which Napoleon has 
fixed his heart for a long time past is re- 
moved. We now see that France has dis- 
covered that, after all, it is the Rhine frontier 
which she wants, and for which she pro- 
poses to do battle. Prince Leopold with- 
drew from the nomination as King of Spain, 
("What's in a name?") because, as stated, 
he did not wish to involve Prussia in a 
bloody, and, perhaps, protracted war. Be- 
fore going farther we will give the exact his- 
tory of the 

MEETING BETWEEN THE KING OF PRUSSIA 
AND BENEDETTI, FEENCH AMBASSADOS. 

We make a simple record of facts from 
official documents : 

The first meeting took place at Ems, on 
the 9th of July, at the request of (Jount 
Benedetti. It was demanded by him that 
the King should require the Prince of Ho- 
henzoUern to withdraw his acceptance of the 
Spanish Crown. The King replied that, as 
in the whole affair, he had been addressed 
only as the head of the family, and never as 
the King of Prussia, and had accordingly 
given no command for the acceptance of the 
candidature, he could also give no command 
for withdrawal. On the 11th of July Count 
Beiiedetti reouested a second audience, which 
I was granted. In this interview he was 

;9 



20 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



urgent with the King to prevail upon Prince 
Leopold to renounce the crown. The King 
replied, that the Prince was perfectly free to 
decide for himself, and that, moreover, he 
did not even know where he was at that 
jnoment, as he was about to take a journey 
among the Alps. On the morning of July 
13, the King met Benedetti on the public 
promenade before the fountain, and gave 
him an extra sheet of The Cologne Gazette, 
which he had just received, with a private 
telegram from Sigmaringen, relating the 
withdrawal of the Prince, remarking at the 
same time that he himself had heard nothing 
from Sigmaringen, but should expect, let- 
ters that day. Count Benedetti replied that 
he had already received the information 
the evening before from Paris, and as the 
King regarded the matter as thus settled, 
the Count wholly unexpectedly made a new 
demand, proposing to the King that he 
should expressly pledge himself never to 
give his consent in case the question of the 
candidature should at any subsequent time 
be revived. The King decidedly refused to 
comply with any such demand, and when 
Benedetti returned to his proposal with 
increasing importunity, stood by his answer. 
In spite of this, a few hours after, the Count 
requested a third audience. Upon being 
asked what subject was to be considered, he 
gave for answer that he wished to renew the 
discussion of the morning. The King de- 
clined another audience, as he had uo answer 
but that already given, and, moreover, all 
negotiations must now take place through 
the Ministry. Benedetti requested permis- 
sion to take leave of the King, upon his 
departure from Ems, which was so far granted 
that the King bowed to him as the latter 
was leaving the railway station the next day 
for Coblenz. Each of the interviews of 
Benedetti with the King had the character 
of a private conversation. The Count did 
not once pretend to be acting in his official 
capacity. 

In the preceding statement, which is 
sanctioned by the King himself, no mention 
is made of the rudeness of Benedetti in forc- 
ing himself upon His Majesty while indulging 
in the recreation of a walk on the crowded 
promenade of Ems. It was generally re- 
garded, however, as a studied insult on the 
part of the French Minister, and was com- 
mented on with indignation by the German 
press. Such a violation of diplomatic cour- 
tesy could hardly have been accidental. 
Not even the excitement of a sudden sur- 
prise could excuse the incivility ; but there 
was no surprise in the case ; the Count had 
received the news the night before, and had 
at least twelve hours to meditate his course 
of action. The affair was witnessed with 
astonishment by the numerous spectators of 
the scene, wlio drew their own augury of its 
probable consequences. It was interpreted 
as a sign of hostility toward Prussia, and 
two days after came the declaration of war. 

In ipite of the seriousness of the occasion, 



the procedure had a certain comic side; 
which is thus described by an eye-witness : 
" On Wednesday morning the King waa 
taking his usual walk on the promenade, 
among the other visitors at Ems, in the 
company of two or three gentlemen. Hap- 
pening to turn my head, I saw that the King 
had been fastened upon by a short, fat figure, 
who was gesticulating and talking with the 
utmost animation. I asked the bystanders 
who was that Uttle man in the light-brown 
summer dress, with his hair cut close to the 
head, but could get uo satisfaction. His 
liveliness struck me as very strange, it formed 
such a contrast to the quiet manners of the 
King, and I could not help following his 
movements with my eye. The conversation 
did not continue much longer; the King 
spoke a few words mildly to the little Italian, 
as I took him to be, made a parting motion 
with his hand and his hat, and pursued hi» 
way to the house where he lodged. The 
little man snatched off" his hat in a hurry^ 
turned on his heel, and feeling in his breast- 
pocket, drew out a paper which he gave to 
one of the gentlemen that accompanied the 
King. And this little pepper-pot, as I after- 
ward learned, was not an Italian, but a Corsi- 
can, and his name was Benedetti." 

The final communication with the French 
Ambassador was through Prince Radziwill,^. 
an adjutant in the personal suit of the King,, 
who has since given a detailed account of the 
interview. " In consequence of a conversation 
with Count Benedetti on the promenade, on 
the morning of July 13," says he, " I was 
commanded by the King, about two o'clock 
in the afternoon, to take the following mes- 
sage to the Count: 'His Majesty has received 
within an hour, a written communication 
from Prince Hohenzollern, fully confirming 
the intelligence in regard to the withdrawal 
of Prince Leopold from the Spanish candida- 
ture, which the Count had received directly 
from Paris. The King regarded this as a 
final settlement of the question.' After I 
had delivered this message to Count Bene- 
detti, he replied that since his conversation 
with the King, he had received a new dispatch 
from the Duke de Gramont, in which he wa? 
instructed to request an audience of the King, 
and lay before him once more the wishes )t 
the French Government. 1. That he should 
approve the withdrawal of Prince Hohenzol- 
lern. 2. That he should give the assuranf>e 
that the same candidature should never be 
again accepted in the future. Hereupon Hi& 
Majesty commanded me to reply to the Count 
that he approved of the withdrawal of Prince 
Leopold in the same sense, and to the same 
extent, as he had previously approved of his 
acceptance. The, written communication 
which he had received was from Prince Anton 
of Hohenzollern (father of Leopold), who 
had been authorized thereto by prince Leo- 
pold himself. In respect to the second point, 
assurance for the future, His Majesty could 
only refer to what he had said to the Count 
in the morning. Coimt Benedetti received 



THE FRANCO-GEUMAN WAR. 



21 



<his rojily of the Kinij: with thanks, and said 
that he would announce it to his Government, 
as he was authorized to do. In regard to 
the second point, however, he was obliged, 
tiy the express instructions in the last dis- 
patch of the Duke de (Jraniont, to request 
another conversation with the King, if it 
were only to hear a repetition of the same 
words, especially as new arguments were 
contained in the last dispatch, which he 
would like to present to His Majesty. Upon 
this, at about half past 6ve o'clock, after 
dinner, the King ordered me to reply for the 
third time to Count Benedetti, that he must 
decidedly decline any further discussion of 
the last point, relating lo a guarantee for the 
future. What he had said in the morning 
was his final word on tliat subject, and he 
could only refer to that. Upon being assured 
that the arrival of Count Bismarck in Ems 
the next day was not certain. Count Bene- 
detti remarked that for his part he would 
content himself with the declaration of the 
King." 

The actual demands of the French Gov- 
ernment upon the King are contained in a 
subsequent dispatch from Baron Werther, 
the Prussian ^iinister at Paris. In a con- 
versation with the Duke de Gramont, the 
latter remarked that he regarded the with- 
drawal of Prince Leopold as a matter of 
secondary importance, but he feared that the 
course of Prussia in regard to it would oc- 
casion a permanent misunderstanding be- 
tween the two countries. It was necessary 
to guard against this by destroying the germ. 
The conduct of Prussia toward France had 
been unfriendly. This was admitted, to his 
certain knowledge, by all the great powers. 
To speak frankly, he did not wish for war, 
but would rather preserve amicable relations 
with Prus.sia. He looped that Prussia had 
similar dispositions. He was satisfied with 
the intentions of the Prussian Minister, and 
they could, accordingly, freely djscuss the 
conditions of reconciliation. He would sug- 
gest the writing of a letter to the Emperor 
by the King, disavowing all purpose of in- 
fringing upon the interests or the dignity of 
France in his authorizing the acceptance of 
the Spanish crown by Prince Leopold. The 
King should confirm the withdrawal of the 
Prince, and express the hope that all ground 
of complaint between the two Governments 
would thus be removed. Nothing should 
e said in the letter concerning the family 
elations between Prince Leopold and the 
Emperor. 

Tlie refusal of the King to accept the 
humiliating conditions proposed by the 
French Government called forth the live- 
liest approval and sympathy in all parts 
of Germany. It awakened a deep feeling 
of affection for his person, confidence in his 
judgment, and devotion to his interests. 
He is now identified not only with the rights 
of Prussia, but with the cause of German 
unity, and the defence of German honor. 

The day after his final and eventful inter- 



view with Benedetti, the King left Eras at an 
early hour in the morning in a special train 
for Berlin. lie took leave of the crowd 
which had assembled to witness his departure 
with evident emotion. " I hope to see you 
all once more," said he. "God is my witness 
that I have not desired war ; but if 1 am 
forced into it, I will maintain the honor of 
Gerinany to the last man." 

His journey was like a triumphal progress. 
The heartfelt greetings with which he w.a8 
received by the people on the way indicate 
the sentiment of the whole population. 
Never, in the history of the world, did a 
sovereign enjoy such enthusiastic approval 
from his subjects for an official act. 'i'he 
feeling is spontaneous and universal. Upon 
his arrival at Coblenz. he was received by a 
military corps, called the " War Union," 
with music and baimers. He could only 
say : " My comrades, I rejoice greatly in 
the surprise which you have prepared for 
me." 

At Cassel, the capital of the new Prussian 
province of Hesse, he was welcomed by the 
authorities of the city, and a large concourse 
of people. In a brief speech, he expressed 
his satisfaction at finding such patriotic 
sentiments in the new capital, and continued 
his journey amid shouts of congratulations. 
He arrived in Berlin, or rather at the Pots- 
dam station, about nine o'clock in the even- 
ing. The streets were alive with throngs of 
people who had come to bid him welcome 
home. Every spot in the vicinity was full. 
Prussian banners and German flags waved 
from all the windows. Many of the houses 
were illuminated, 'i'he carriages were not 
allowed to pass in the street, but were drawn 
up, full of people, in long lines on each side. 
The waiting-room of the King at the station 
was covered with banners, aftd filled with gar- 
lands and wreaths of fresh flowers. Among 
the crowd were many military officers of the 
highest rank, the civil authorities of the city, 
the most eminent merchants and bankers, 
and a host of ladies in full dress. The great 
mass of the population of Berlin appeared to 
be present, and the streets were so completely 
blocked up that it was almost impossible to 
pass. At three o'clock the Crown Prince, 
Count Bismarck, the Minister of War, Gen. 
Roon and Gen. Moltke, had gone to meet the 
King at Brandenburg. It was there that the 
King first heard of the declaration of war, and 
immediately gave orders for mobilizing the 
army. The train was signaled at a quarter 
before nine, and entered the station amid 
shouts of welconjLp. As the King left the 
carriage he gave his hand to Field Marshal 
Wrangel, who uuprinted upon it a reverent 
kiss. He was deeply moved by his reception. 
Advancing slowly along the platform, he 
reached his hand to the right and left, bowing 
to the multitude as he passed, and receiving 
the bouquets which were showered upon him 
by the ladies. 

He was now greeted by the representa 
tive of the City Government, who pledged 



22 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



himself for the devotion and self-sacrifice of 
the people. The King replied in a few 
Avords of good cheer. After a short time, 
the King got mto a carriage, with the Crown 
Prince, and drove from the station amid 
thunders of applause. The whole way to the 
palace was one act of homage. There was 
not a word nor a look of anxiety among that 
innumerable host. Not a breath betrayed a 
feeling of doubt. Every soul was irrspired 
with trust in God and a good cause. All 
was confidence and congratulation, if not 
joy. As the carriage approached the pal- 
ate, the pressure b&same so great that even 
the stone pillars in the public square broke 
as if they had been made of wood. The 
ceaseless hurras roared like a hurricane 
around the place. The King alighted on 
the steps, and with deep emotion repeatedly 
expressed his thanks. He could scarcely be 
heard for the acclamations, but those who 
stood nearest to him caught the words : 
" With such inspiration of my people, our 
victory is secure ; we may look forward to 
the future without fear." The King then en- 
tered the palace, but the crowd remained. All 
at once, the national hymn began to ascend 
from ten thousand voices. The people stood 
with uncovered heads. A small proportion 
only were able to sing ; the others wept from 
excitement; and even those who took part 
in the hymn could do so only with trembling 
voice and tearful eye. It was a moment of 
sublime transfiguration. A little before 11 
o'clock. Gen. Moltke made his appearance in 
the square. He was received with a storm 
of welcome, and the people could hardly be 
restrained from taking him on tneir shoul- 
ders, and bearing him into the palace. At 
length, about half an hour before midnight, 
the multitude were informed that the King 
had still many h^avy tasks to attend to, and 
begged them to retire. " Home 1 Home 1" 
was at once, the universal cry, and in a 
few minutes the vast throng had disap- 
peared, and left not a soul in the spacious 
square. 

In other parts of the town, the excitement 
continued till nearly morning. An address 
to the King was hastily extemporized, taken 
to the nearest printing ofiBce, and soon dis- 
tributed among the people. It was some- 
what to this effect : " In this time of danger, 
when the honor of Prussia, of Germany, is 
hoidly outraged by French audacity, when 
security and peace are causelessly and crimi- 
nally threatened, your people are impelled 
to express their unshakable fidelity, and 
their universal enthusiasm for the fight. As 
in 18I3-'15, around youf Majesty's noble 
father, every Prussian, with blood and treas- 
ure, will now stand around your glorious 
leaders in the war. Only one 'thing have 
your faithful people to supplicate of your 
Majesty, never to rest until this French ar- 
rogance shall be humbled for all time, and 
Germany restored to its ancient greatness. 
Only one word have we to speak : With God 
for King and Fatherland I Hurrah! Hurrah !" 



The signatures to this address soon amounted 
to many thousands. 

It was reported, and by many believed, 
that the French array would at once make a 
" promenade " through the south of Ger 
many. The delay gave an unexpected time 
for preparation to the German forces". There 
have been many strangers here from Amer 
ica and England, who have been tempted by 
the beauty of the environs, the heaithfulness 
of the climate, and the advantages for educa- 
tion, to select Stuttgart as a place of tempo- 
rary residence. But they are now more 
desirous to go away than they have ever 
been to come. Prices have gone up with a 
bound, and business is at a stand-still. Credit 
is greatly disturbed, and travellers find it 
difficult to obtain cash for their drafts on the 
greatest Parisian bankers. There is no 
telegraph to France or Switzerland, no 
trains to the north or west, and letters to 
America go only by way of England. Even 
the mails are suspended from Frankfort tO' 
France. The people here take the situation, 
quietly. Families are ordered to be in readi- 
ness for the quartering of 16, .500 troops, at 
the rate of six to ten to a family. Fine car- 
riage horses are taken out of their stables 
for the uses of the Government at a nominal 
price. But the spirit of the people is un- 
daunted, and will not easily quail, even be- 
fore the terrors of machine cannon and 
chassepots. 

We now come to the date made memorial 
by the 

UPEISING OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE. 

(From oar own correspondent.) 

Stuttgakt, July 25. — It is now evident' 
that the war declared by Louis Napoleon 
against Prussia is to be fought with the en- 
tire German race. Munich, Stuttgart, and 
Baden are glowing withpa patriotic ardor no 
less fervent than that which inspires the 
population of Berlin. The distinctions of 
party, as •well as those of nationality, are • 
lost in the prevailing enthusiasm. With few 
exceptions, the hostility to Prussia, which 
was called forth by the events of '66, has 
subsided, and the ancient German feeling has 
regained possession of every heart. Evcl; 
the Democrats and Socialists, who are bitter 
enemies of the Prussian monarchy, and with 
whom Bismarck is the object of supreme ab 
hofrence, have laid aside their feuds, and are 
flocking to the common standard for the de- 
fence of the Fatherland. The country now 
presents a glorious spectacle. There have 
been few such moments in history. Even 
the stranger in the land cannot withhold his 
sympathy and admiration from the spirit 
which pervades the people. 

The first announcement of the war was 
the signal for a universal burst of patriotic 
feeling. There was no hesitation, no shrink- 
ing, no distrust. Personal interests were at 
once postponed to the cause of the country. 
The war was accepted as an inevitable neces- 
sity, — a war not of conquest, not of ambi- 



THE FRANCO-GETtaiAN ^AR. 



25 



tion, not of political intrigue — but a war for 
the protection of the fireside, and of the 
native soil. In Berlin, there was but one 
voice of devotion to tlie King, and assurance 
of victory. " Come what may," was the 
general cry, " we cannot be conquered by 
the French." "At first, it may go hard with 
lis," said one of the aged merchants of the 
city, " we may lose a great battle, we have 
no pledge of the fortune of war. and the 
French are a powerful enemy ; but we must 
and shail be victorious ; even if the children 
from school, and old men like myself, are 
called to take part in the conflict." There 
was great excitement on the Bourse, but not 
a tongue was raised against the war. It was 
aiuiounced that 9.oO.O()() men were at the 
disposal of Prussia, of whom nearly TOO.OOO 
were ready to take the field. The army of 
Sa.xony was at once put in motion; Dresden 
and Leipsic joined hands with Berlin; and 
leveu from the newly annexed provinces of 
Prussia, not a discordant note was heard. It 
was said in Darmstadt: " Let Germany fear- 
lessly take up the gage that has been thrown 
down, and follow the lead of Prussia into the 
fight ; for our cause is just, and Heaven will 
be on our side." In Hanover, the war with 
France was hailed with acclamation. In the 
places of public amu.sement, which were 
nlled with people, the enthusiasm was so 
irreat as to put a stop to the performances. 
Nothing would do but patriotic songs. " Des 
Deutschen Vaterland," (the (xerman Father- 
land) " Die Wacht am Khein." (the Watch 
on the Rhine) and even " Das Preussen- 
lied." (the Prussian Song) were repeatedly 
jcalled for and loudly echoed by the crowded 
audiences. 

The expressions of feeling in Southern 
lOermany were equally prompt and decisive. 
The largest public meeting that was ever 
known in Stuttgart, was held on the Satur- 
day evening after the reception of the news. 
Every political party was represented, and 
all spoke with one voice in favor of the war. 
There was no question that Wlirtemberg 
would join heart and hand in the common 
cause. The mobilizing of the army com- 
menced without delay, and numbers of the 
young men of the city came forward as vol- 
unteers. Here is no dodging of military 
duty, no creet)ing away under some plea of 
exemption ; everybody who is able is willing 
to serve; and those who cannot, pour out 
their money like water. In Tubingen, that 
old University town, famed for the choice 
variety of theological opitu'on which it dis- 
penses to every taste, a great public gather- 
ing assembled on Sunday evening. The 
crowd was so immense that it was necessary 
to adjourn from a hall of the Museum to the 
spacious riding-school. It was urged upon 
the Government to take vigorous measures 
for the prosecution of the war, which was 
pronounced essential to the existence of the 
nation, and the security of every household. 
Every true German could now have but one 
taotto : "Against France to the last man; 



and to the last breath." Tubingen will suf- 
fer from the war more than many large 
towns in Germany. The news came upon 
her like a bomb-shell. The University is hen 
main dependence, and the students are now! 
leaving almost in a body. Many of them are 
from North Germany, and must go at oiice. 
The subjects of military duty from Wlirtem- 
berg reported themselves at once, a part of 
them as ready to march. 

'I'he Gertnan watering-places feel the effect 
of the sudden change severely. More than 
2.000 persons left Eras in a single day. There 
was such a rush at the railway station that 
the police were obliged to keep order with 
drawn swords. The French, who were leav- 
ing, tied white pocket-handkerchiefs to their 
canes and umbrellas. Baden-Baden, as well 
as the resorts of less note in the Black For- 
rest, are quite deserted. Most of the hotels 
are entirely empty, and waiters are sum- 
moned to exchange their white waistcoats 
for a military uniform. 

The personal narrative of a visitor at 
Creuznach. may give an idea of the experi- 
ence of many of the German Summer travel- 
lers : 

" On Thursday morning," says he, " when 
the renunciation of Prince Leopold appeared 
to have settled the question, certainly for the 
present, I started from Frankfort, and arriv- 
ing at Wiesbaden, found the watering-place 
life still in full bloom. The gardens were 
filled with a throng of gay persons, players 
sat around the green table, there was music 
on the progienade, and the dififerent places 
of interest in the vicinity were alive with 
elegant equipages. It was on the journey 
through the Rheingan, that I first heard of 
the prostration of our hopes for peace. In 
Creuznach. where I arrived on Friday, the 
1.5th, the effects were already to be seen. A 
great number of strangers had left in the 
morning, and during the day the stations 
from Munster to Creuznach were besieged 
with crowds of passengers. Even lame men 
on crutches and children were brought in all 
sorts of vehicles, to the train. Still the pub- 
lic garden presented its usual appearance in 
the evening. There was music in the bril- 
liantly-lighted pavilion; a great conconrr.e 
of people, mostly in rich toilets, filled tlie 
seats and walks, and gayly-dressed children 
were playing on the lawn. On Saturday 
morning we heard of the declaration of war 
from an extra of the Creuznach Gazette. 
An excursion at 10 o'clock, in the vicinity 
of the Rhine, brought us into the midst of 
military preparations. The trains were de- 
layed at every station. Everywhere our 
path was crossed by long rows of locomotives 
coupled together, and cars filled with troops 
and mun'tions of war. £very station was 
crowded as full as it could hold with people 
from the neighborhood, to hear the news. 
Upon our return to Creuznach, what a con- 
trast to last evening I No music was heard 
in the pavilion — only the melancholy tones 
of » littlQ bell on the neighboring churck. 



sa 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



The throng of fashionables that make up the 
society of a watering-place had dwindled to 
a very few persons. These sat together 
without speaking, each preoccupied with* his 
own serious thoughts. The thriving town 
of hotels and boarding-houses, which, in a 
single generation, had taken the place of 
rude wooden hoyels, had suddenly become 
desolate. The showy shops stood without 
a purchaser, the boatmen were thrown out 
of employment, although the walls were still 
covered with placards announcing regattas 
and fireworks, and illuminations. Servants 
were lounging idly around, and the carriage- 
drivers had nothing to do but to take stran- 
gers to the railway. On Sunday morning 
the town of Creuznach was completely 
isolated by the suspension of all the trains, 
and at the same time, the horses from every 
part of the circle were mustered into the 
a/rmy. 

"In the North of Germany generally, the 
excitemeut was no less intense than in Ber- 
lin. The Chief Magistrate of Schleswig- 
Holstein, upon his accession to ofiSce, calls" 
upon the people for their aid to the war : 
'My first official duty among you,' he says, 
' falls in a difficult, but still 'an exalting time. 
I had hoped to labor with you in the peaceful 
building up of our coraaion country. But 
the Almighty has ordered it otherwise. A 
sudden and outrageous attack has been made 
Tipon the hoiior of our nation. The heredi- 
tary enemy of our Fatherland has declared 
war upon us without cause. Armed hosts 
already press upon our borders. The whole 
army, the whole people, is summoned to 
arms. Every one rushes to the banners with 
alacrity and joy. No man will hold back. 
Oar natural aUies, the South-German States, 
stand true to us. Let us, then, look forward 
to the great conflict with devotion and trust 
in God. We know that when a people de- 
fends its honor and its right against an 
insolent foe, when it cheerfully sacrifices its 
blood and its treasure to the holy cause of 
its country, then God the Lord_, will take 
them under His protection.' Schleswig- 
Holstein has hitherto been torn by parties. 
Now there is no feeling but that of perfect 
unity. The Central Committee of the 
Liberal party issues an address, breathing a 
spirit of the loftiest patriotism : 

'' MenofSchleswig-Holstein ! The decision 
is made. France breaks over the German 
Rhine. Germany stands ready with every 
sacrifice to meet the foe. In long, hard 
fights, even when all had left us, have we 
defended every foot of the German soil. 
What duty and honor require stand written 
in every German breast. The children of 
our land will fight in the front ranks. On- 
ward, then, to the combat, for Germany 
united in freedom and might, and may God 
bless our righteous weapons." 

fn the city of Bremen, there prevailed the 
highest degree of enthusiasm. As soon as 
France drew the sword, you heard expres- 
sions of confidence at the corner of every 



street. The young men hastened joyfully to 
the banners. Patriotic fathers telegraphed 
to their sons in America to come home, 'i'he 
wives bore the message of young exempts in 
that country, who would not use their privi- 
lege, when their Fatherland was attacked. 
Although trade in Bremen is at an end, 
navigation broken off. and rflillions of money 
at risk on the event, there is but one senti- 
ment of manly resistance to the enemy. All 
the buoys and signals at the mouth of tho 
Weser have been sunk, or removed to pre- 
vent the entrance of the French ii^n-clada 
that have sailed from Cherbourg. It is 
supposed that they are driving for the har- 
bors of the North Sea, in order to make a 
descent upon Schleswig-Holstein. The news 
from' Bavaria and Wurtemberg, of the pre- 
parations for war, was received with high 
exultation in Bremen. 

The same feeling was manifested in Lubeck. 
On the Sunday, after war was declared, more 
than 20,000 people assembled in a large field 
before the gates of the city. An inspiriting 
address was made, responding to the feelings 
of every German heart, at the close of which 
every man in the vast multitude, with un. 
covered head, and hands raised to. heaven, 
solemnly pledged himself to defend hia 
country with his blood. Nearly a hundred 
young men from Frankfort and the vicinity, 
who had served out their regular time in the 
array, and had gone to England as clerks in 
mercantile houses, have" returned as volun- 
teers, and have been mustered into the 
service. They received great syiripathy 
from their acquaintances in England, as well 
as on their passage through Belgium, and 
their employers have promised to keep their 
places for them against their return. 

The Crown Prince of Prussia arrived at 
Stuttgart, July 28, about 8 o'clock, on his 
way to the frontier, to take command of the 
South German army. He was received with 
an enthusiastic welcome by the people. 
Every street in the vicinity of the station, 
where he alighted, was crowded. A long 
line stood on each side as he passed with his 
suite. They drove in several carriages to the 
royal palace, where he is to stop for a short 
time. This was a great day in Stuttgart. 
Large bodies of soldiers, in complete warlike 
equipment,were constantly marching through 
the town on their way to the frontier. They 
had the appearance of stout, hardy men, 
inured to labor and fatigue, and the alacrity 
of their movements was truly animating. 

Up to this time nothing of moment appears 
to have occurred. There had been several 
slight rencountres between the soldiers on each 
side, and alarms were sufficiently frequent to 
keep the Prussians on the alert. Under date 
of Tuesday, July 19, it was announced from 
Saarbruck (one of the' chief points on the 
Prussian frontier opposite Forbach, a small 
village in the French territory), that constant 
excitement prevailed. The approach of the 
French was expected every hour. The gar- 
rison was fully prepared to give them a warm 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



27 



recnplioii. 'I'lie day before, in the afternoon, 
ii i)easant brouchl the information that tlie 
Frenili were seen on the heights of Forbach. 
A company immediately marched at double- 
quicic toward tiie place. At the same time, 
a troop of irfilans pushed on from St. Johann 
on the Saar to the French lines. The 
remainder of tl^e garrison took their stand 
opposite to the railway bridge. It was an 
e.xciting moment. All the shops were shut. 
The women and children took refuge in the 
cellars. Every instant it was expected that 
the battle would begin in the streets. But 
it turned out to be a false alarm. The troops 
returned about 5 o'clock without having seen 
an enemy. At 3 o'clock the next morning 
the general march was again beat. OfiScer 
after officer rode rapidly through the streets. 
Soon the uhlans were on the move, while the 
entrances to the principal streets were 
guarded by infantry. This time it was not a 
false alarm. 

FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY. 
On a wooded height before the town the 
uhlans received several squadrons of French 
chasseurs. They went at them with loud 
hurrahs, but the chasseurs, after firing two 
or three shots, rode off in a hurry within 
their. own lines. The uhlans had no orders 
to pursue them, and returned to their quar- 
t'^rs. The shot hit the horse of one of the 
officers on the hind leg, but no other damage 
was done. 

The first French blood spilled was on the 
next day, Wednesday, July 20, when one of 
the French patrols was shot by a corporal of 
the Prussian advance guard. The body of 
the soldier was left on the spot by the chas- 
seurs, as they fled, and was afterward buried 
near by. It was remarked, as a noticeable 
coincidence, . that the shot was fired by a 
soldier of the so-called HohenzoUern regi- 
ment. On the afternoon of the same day, 
a chasseur was shot by a Prussian sergeant, 
and the whole number of killed on the French 
side amounts to eight, one of them a mounted 
infantry officer, who fell dead from his horse. 
I'he French are bad shots. They blaze away 
as soon as they see a soldier's cap, though 
there is only one. The Chassepo4s carry to 
a lontr distance, but do not hit well. Only 
two l*russians have been wounded, and those 
siight'y. The French are found in consider- 
able Lumbers in the woods on the left bank 
of the Saar. They kept cracking away with 
' their i'uns, and the laborers in the vicinity 
are ob'iged to quit work. A ball occasionally 
strikeb a train returning from Saar Louis. 
The French people on the Ihies are in a state 
of great depression, showing a strong contrast 
to the buoyant spirit that prevails everywhere 
in Germany. All the manufactories are 
shifliiuU&N* W^ '^^Wsands of workmen are 
tlilw^Ht PHt ,bf ^fi'ig[^py ment. 
,«gA«W ^t)fii,*i!^9ive,!)y,#iug, I have received 
V'.9'4^W'ht^rxX^mfl^?.-:r.M^r]y on Saturday 
»?ofpiijfg,,j(Ji|ljr„,?^), q,„ bat^s^i^n of French 
inranj^fy,j4ttfmgte,4i'io :gjPt;|»»QSS§fi|iion of the 



the fort at Saar Louis sent out a battalion 
of infantry and a squatlron of uhlans, who 
soon drove them back. About 7 o'clock the 
French soldiers made a descent upon the 
railway bridge at Schaunenberge, but were 
repulsed after a brisk fire on both sides. 

Below we give the names and character 
of the iron-clads in the navies of Prussia and 
France : 



Broadside. 
Konig Wilhehn. 
Kron Prinz. 
Renown. 

Broadside. 
Magenta. 
Solferino. 
Gloire. 
Invincible. 
Normandie. 
Couronne. 
Provence. 
Heroine. 
S avoir. 
Revanche. 
Surveilliante. 
Flandre. 
Guyeuse. 
Gauloise. 
Valeureuse. 



PRUSSIA. 

Turret. 
Arminins. 
Prince Adalbert. 
And 2 building. 

FRANCE. 

Broadside. 
Magnanime. 
Rocharabeau. 
Devastation. 
Congreve. 
Lave. 

Foudroyante. 
Turret. 
Foudroyante. 
Taureau. 
Belliqueuse. 
Belier. 

Boule Dogue. 
Cerbere. 
And twenty floating 
batteries. 



THE SENTIMENT OF FRANCE. 

SCENE IN THE FRENCH CORPS tESIStATIP — PR<»» 
TESTS AGAINST THE WAR — POSITION OJ" THE LIB- 
ERALS. 

The first glimpse of the true history of th« 
declaration of war was obtained from the 
Paris papers of July I7th, containing the 
report of Friday's debate in the Corps L^gis- 
latif. After the Due de Gramont's decla- 
ration, a demand was made for the dis- 
patches. • Ollivier, after refusing to give 
them, was compelled to admit that France 
had finally declared war on accovmt of the 
Prussian dispatch communicating to the 
European Courts the King's refusal to re- 
ceive the French Ambassador ; and that this 
dispatch, thus made the basis of war, had 
not been seen by any French Minister. The 
Government had, in fact, declared war on 
what purported to be an abstract of that 
dispatch, supplied .by two French spies, 
whose names were withheld. 

When war was announced the Left re- 
fused to join in the shouts of the majority. 
When the majority voted an extra war credit 
of 500,000,000 francs, the Left again sat si- 
lent. The majority, thereupon, began a ve- 
hement altercation. 

M. Thiers said : When such a deraonstra-, 
tion is made, I wish to say why I did not riso 
with the majority. I believe I love my 
country. If there was ever a solemn day it 
is this. When war shall be declared nobody 
will grant to Government more readily than 
I the means of conquering. My patriotism 
equals yours. We are considering a declara. 
tion of war made by the ministry of the 



28 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



tribune. Does suclr a declaration concern 
the ministry alone, not us ? Our duty is to 
reflect. The resolution you have just 
adopted is the death of thousands of men. 
One instant, I beseech you, of reflection ! 
Bethink you of May 8, 1866. You refused 
tlien to hear me when I sought to show you 
what was about to happen. Let that recol- 
lection persuade you to listen now. The 
principal demand of Government has been 
conceded ; [Interruption] my conscience 
t^ells me I fulfil a duty in resisting imprudent 
passions, and representing soberly the coun- 
try's interests. Is this a time for you to 
break the peace on a mere question of sus- 
ceptibility ? You are shedding torrents of 
blood for question of form. I ask for the 
dispatches upon which resolution for war 
Jhas been adopted. If I had the honor to 
govern my country, I should have wished to 
give it time for reflection. I regard this war 
as an imprudence, and its occasion as ill- 
chosen. More than anj'body else, I desire 
reparation for 1866. No doubt Prussia has 
-deceived us. [Interruption.] You do not 
understand that I discharge tne most painful 
duty of my life. I pity you ; insult me if 
you will ; I will endure everything ; but you 
do not fulfil your whole duty, and that is 
why I call for the dispatches. 

M. Ollivier, briefly replying, refused the 
dispatches absolutely. 

M. Gaxabetta renewed the demand, saying : 
*'You *put the responsibility of war on a 
idispatcn ; you must show us the dispatch." 

M. Ollivier. — " I will read two dispatches, 
but not the signatures, for our agents would 
fee sent -away." M. Ollivier then read part 
of one dispatch, confirming the refusal of 
King William to receive the French Ambas- 
sador, and two dispatches from French 
agents abroad, giving the substance of Bis- 
marck's circular. The circular itself, M. 
Ollivier did not pretend to produce. He 
concluded by saying : " We go to war with 
a light heart, and confident in our army." 

After an interval and other questions, M. 
Ollivier said ; " We will tell the whole truth : 
What we could not .epdure was the semi- 
©fiBcial communication to all Europe of the 
rejection of our Ambassador, all the more 
significant because done in the most cour- 
teous terms." " The right," says La Liberie, 
a vehement war organ, " received M. Olli- 
Tier's speech with consternation." M. 
Thiers attempted to reply, but was inter- 
rupted. 

M. Duvernois. — ^War is due to Cabinet 
blunder. 

M. Thiers. — It is to a blunder that we 
owe war. M. Ollivier has evaded the ques- 
tion. Prussia ought to have been attacked 
when she desired to unite the German States ; 
then war would have been legitimate, and 
^e should have been sustained. I blamed 
iSadowa at the time; to-day the world de- 
mandd' legitimate complaints. Prussia also 
has committed a great fault in negotiating 
with Spain ; yet Prussia wished peace, and 



we have war. If we had still to requiie ths 
renunciation of the HohenzoUern candida- 
ture, I should be with you, but now that we 
have obtained that, we demand something 
else. You had not only obtained your result.; 
you had form and substance both ; ■"et you 
say Prussia has not yielded in form, and we 
have been insulted. Public opinion will 
turn against us ; the journals of Europe will 
be against us. Prussia never would have 
resumed this candidature. It would have 
been madness. 

Due de Gramont. — Why, then, did she not 
promise ? 

M. Arago. — Because you challenged her. 

M. Thiers. — She refused because you be- 
gan all. I know well thati shock your feel- 
ings, but I know there is the heart of the 
question. I have heard my opinions echoed 
on all sides. 

Great clamors here arose, and M. Thiers, 
in reply to the interruptions, declared that 
"he would only yield the tribune to violence." 
He then resumed : We no longer live in thfa 
peace-at-any-price times ; to demand war at 
any price is the servility of a courtier. But 
I am of no party. 

M. David accused Thiers of wanting 
patriotism and bringing misfortune upon 
France. [Cries of " Order !" on the Lefi.J 

M. Thiers. — Misfortune upon France 1 It 
is not I who have caused it. It is they who 
would not listen to our warnings, you who 
voted Mexico and Sadowa. Had you but 
permitted us to discuss now under a liberal 
regime, would you refuse to hear me ? You 
shall not hinder me from speaking : my duty 
is to pour light on a great fault. 

Nothing could be so significant as such a 
speech from Thiers, who has constantly 
shown a jealous dislike of Prussia, a readi- 
ness for war on any reasonable pretext, and 
a belief that France ought to do as she likes 
in Europe Not one word of this speech was 
allowed to reach England by telegraph'. 
There has been a systematic efibrt to deceive 
Europe about public opinion in France re- 
specting war, and to deceive France about 
the opinions of Europe. Telegrams to Eng- 
lish paperg during the past week have mis- 
represented the tone of the French independ- 
ent press, and suppressed the manifestations 
against war. The Freijeh telegrams declared 
that the French press'was all for war. This 
is true only of the Government organs. The , 
Dibats, Temps, Rappel, Steele, Reveil and 
Cloche are all strongly opposed to it. The 
most eminent Republican leaders were for 
peace 1 Louis Blanc, in the Temps and 
Rappel, protested with matchless vigor and 
ability against this last imperial crime. Even 
journals like the Figaro, mere ' df^'diir of- 
what is popular to-day, havei'^iveW but 'dodbt' 
ful support to the Goverrimemt. Ari'imrtilStt^eJ 
majority of the proviiiitial jbtrteals' rejfiitfed 
war. The demonfrtratibilS b^ th^ Bou'leVai'ff 
were police wot^jJ* the- student^' took 'littM 
part in what "Was sttttributed" to ' 'themii ' ' A' 
letter iMiBidjJpef shows tha1!'th:e*'di8'po8lti<«i' 



THE FRANCU-UEllMAN WAR. 



29 



of the Liberal party, aa a whole, throughont 
France is against ike war, but they can no 
long'er oppose it. Popular or not in its 
origin, the war fever runs high for the mo- 
n^ent, and not even the French exiles want 
to see France beaten. 'I'elegrams to the 
French papers similarly misrepresented the 
English press. Some journals at the begin- 
ning were inclined toward France, in the 
hope that Prussia would yield, and the tele- 
grams give what was said against Prussia, 
nt suppress everything against France. 
The press censorship was never more active 
and unscrupulous. In spite bf its first 
wavering, the English press now, without 
exception, charges France with the responsi- 
bility for war. 'I'he Due de Gramont's state- 
ment, with all its falsehoods, imposes on 
nobody. The interview between Benedetti 
and the King is perfectly understood as a 
premeditated insult by Benedetti, and a 
violation of every diplomatic usage, while 
Prussia's dignified attitude under repeated 
provocations has won her the sympathy of 
Europe. 

BISMABCE. 

The following extracts from a letter written 
by the New York Tribune''s well-known 
correspondent, " G. W. S.," in 1866. entitled 
and describing " an Afternoon with Bis- 
marck," will have renewed interest at the 
present time : 

"The opinion we have in America that 
Bismarck is King of Prussia, and that the 
other is King only in name, is a wrong 
opinion. The royal authority is a very posi- 
tive fact in this country, the ruling monarch, 
is a man of strong will, has a mind of his own 
on all public matters, and will not be led 
blindly about, nor submit himself readily to 
the guidance of any one. He requires to be 
persuaded, and will do no public act till he sees, 
or thinks he sees, it is in accordance with his 
own views. There is no country in Europe 
where the traditions of kingly rule are more 
potent, and no King who abides more firmly 
by his own convictions based upon hereditary 
opinions. In the Divine right and grace of God 
theories he believes profoundly. There was 
nothing from which he more shrunk than a 
war with Austria, which was to him the 
natural ally of Prussia and the representative 
of Imperialism in Europe. It was step by 
tep that he advanced to the collision which 
his pride as a King and his judgment as a 
politician both told him was against his 
interests. But William is soldier as well as 
King, and when affairs came to such a crisis 
that he deemed his honor as an ofiBcer 
pledged to war, then, and then only, was 
war possible. It has been, one may suppose, 
not the easiest part of Count Bismarck's task 
for the last four years to conduct along his 
own path, which led inevitably, though not 
visibly, to war with Austria, such a man as 
King William. 

" This notion of the King might be derived 
from the common talk in Berlin society as 



well as from Count Bismarck. In what 
follows I give not always the words, but 
always the substance of what Bismarck said, 
and ranch of its importance consists in the 
fact that he said it. The student of Europeaa 
politics will find several grave questions here 
answered positively, which heretofore have 
been answered only c»njecturally. At the 
beginning he spoke with an air of great 
weariness, on which he himself commented, 
observing that he had been up for two nights, 
and that it was many months since he had, 
had any rest. ' I am so tired,' said the Count, 
' that if I could sleep for ten hours I should 
not wake, and if I were waked, I could sleep 
for ten more.' Upon this, which was said 
laughingly, I rose to go, but was put down 
in my chair again, and after a few sentences 
Count Bismarck began with a personal nar- 
rative. To those who are familiar with the 
history of the struggle in Prussia between 
Bismarck and the Liberals, and in Germany 
between Prussia and Austria, the bearing 
of this brief report will be sufficiently clear. " 
When the former Ministry resigned, in 
1862, they had brought the King into collision 
with Parliament, and there left him. Count 
Bismarck, in assuming office, found himself 
obliged to continue this conflict. On the 
question of the army, the King and the 
Parliament could not be as one. The armj 
needed a radical change in its organization^ 
and having been mobilized in 1859, that op- 
portunity had been taken as most convenient 
for the increase of the regiments. To-da^ 
every one sees that this step has provea 
essential to the success of Prussia, but itiw 
necessity was what no one would then believe, 
because the exigency of to-day was not fore 
seen, and its probable arrival could not bf 
safely explained or predicted. But th* 
regiments were increased, new officers were 
appointed, for whose pay there was no co» 
stitutional provision, and other large expense// 
were incurred. Parliament demanded tha^ 
all this should be undone, but to disband th« 
regiments and discharge the officers waa 
impossible in view of such a future as haf 
since arrived, nor could the money which 
had been paid out be recalled into the treas- 
ury. The budget, which Parliament do< 
manded should be annulled, represented in- 
fact, for the most part, sums of mone^ 
already disbursed. The conflict was, there- 
fore, not only irrepressible, but incapable of 
adjustment without abandoning a policy 
essential to the safety of Prussia, or without 
such explanations of that policy as would 
have insured in advance its defeat. 

" In respect of foreign policy," said Count 
Bismarck, " I foresaw that the reorganized 
army was a necessity ; that upon it, and not 
iipon Parliaments, or speecTies before dinner, 
or after dinner, must Prussia depend for her 
hope of nationality. A nation she then was 
not, in the high sense of that word, nor was 
there hope that with her fantastical frontiers 
and outlying provinces her people shoulel 
grow totliink themselves one. The territorwj 



3d 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



configuration of the country was a source of ! 
weakness not to be obviated by even a far 
stronger sentiment of nationality than then 
existed, and it was before all things essential 
to the future of Germany that there should 
be first a Prussia able to insist on its opinions. 
I repeat, to declare such a policy in advance 
was to defeat it. The King would have 
opposed it utterly, Austria would have been 
forewarned and supplied with weapons, for- 
eign courts would have scouted it as vision- 
ary, or have actively thwarted every step 
towards its accomplishment. To-day the 
work is done, but its final success I look upon 
as assured. North of the Main, Germany is 
one. * * * * 

" The sudden and extraordinary success of 
Prussia alarmed the tiraperor of the French 
in the prospect of a united Germany, a great 
Gern\an power established in a moment in 
the center of Europe and upon the frontier 
of France, and his interposition in the peace 
negotiations was to prevoU that complete 
union. The part which he actually played 
was a part very different from that which he 
first contemplated. * * * To have per- 
sisted at that moment would have been to 
go to war with France as well as with Aus- 
tria. 

" The result of the war is to make it possible 
that Prussia should be a nation capable to 
govern itself. She fought for defence, for 
own existence, and for Germany., Some peo- 
ple fancied it possible to unite Germany by 
speeches at Frankfort, but there were only 
two things which could make a Germany — 
a war or a revolution. Had Prussia not 
been able to lead the movement, she was 
likely to have been broken in pieces territo- 
rially, and Bavaria or Saxony would have 
had as much control in German' politics as 
Prussia, while in European politics she 
might have been no better than another 
Belgium. The nationality of Prussia lay in 
her army. With the army as it was in 18.o9, 
■it would have been impossible to fight. Two- 
thirds of her force was comprised in the 
Landwehr (the, militia), unavailable for in- 
stant necessities, and the ranks were filled 
with men who had families and wished no 
war. It -was necessary to break that up. I 
believe the Liberal party of Prussia now 
sees that a policy has been pursued during 
the last four years tending steadily to one 
end, and that the means employed were, if 
aot the only, at least a sure method of reach- 
ing it. They clearly see that it was impossi- 
ble to make such explanatiens as might 
have removed the necessity for the conflict 
I was obliged to carry on against them. I 
rejoice at their cordial acquiescence in the 
results that have been achieved, and that 
their assurance of good will and sujjport are 
fiincere I heartily believe — I should pro- 
foundly regret to doubt it — God forbid. On 
jny part, be sure the feeling is cordial. The 
King's speech was sincere, and his desire to 
be on good terms with the Liberals is a 
l^enume one, and I trust will continue. But 



the influences which surround the King are 
well known and they cannot always be suc- 
cessfully opposed." 

Much more was said about the King, 
which I must omit. The very interesting 
narrative which Count Bismarck gave of the 
circumstances attending his accession to 
office four years ago, and of his interviews 
with the King — these also must be passed 
over. I will only add that while the Minister 
President evidently finds his abilities often 
sorely tasked to persuade the King into hia 
views of foreign and home policy, Count 
Bismarck, as a Prussian, is animated by a 
sentiment of loyalty perfectly genuine. He 
may speak of the King at times with some 
freedom, but he will always serve him faith- 
fully. '• You, as a Republican," said Count 
Bismarck, " cannot understand the feeling 
with which when called to the Ministry 1 
proffered my services to the King. For four 
or five hundred years ray ancestors had 
served his. That I should tell him when 1 
thought him wrong, was not less necessary 
than that so long as I continued Minister I 
should obey. When it became impossible to 
obey, it was possible to resign." There is a 
contrast here which will not fail to suggest 
itself. On one side the Ministry, conducting 
the King step by step along a path he would 
not tread for one instant could he but see 
whither it led ; on the other, the subject^ 
professing and sincerely feeling the utmost 
loyalty to his sovereign. This is none the 
less human nature because it happens to be 
a contradiction. It is true also that loyalty 
to the Crown is a national sentiment among 
the Prussians, and that the throne of the 
HohenzoUerns stands firmer to-day than that 
of any royal house in Europe. I have heard 
from Liberals expressions of attachment to 
the King, as King, which would surprise 
those who are accustomed to think of Liber- 
alism and Republicanism as one. 

That Count Bismarck's opinions on con- 
stitutional government are not likeljr to find 
favor among those of us in America who 
believe in a government founded on ideas, 
1 am very sure ; but such as they are I give 
them. In respect to Prussian affairs, the 
question was considered in some details, but 
the general statement is at least compact 
and lucid. " In a government by written 
constitution there is no such thing as an 
absolute right on either side. A right abso- 
lute in terms must be subject to liraitatiou 
in practice when its exercise comes in colli- 
sion with another right equally perfect in 
theory, as must often be the case. Both are 
rights, but their co-enjoyment may prove 
quite impossible; then one must give way, 
and the welfare of the State must determine 
which. Be sure that in a parliamentary 
constitutional government, if you adopt the 
maxim ^a^ justitia, pereat mundus, it is the 
pereat mundus that will always come upon 
you." 

The conversation touched brieflv on Ameri- 
can topics : " In our relations with the Uni- 




MAKSHAL MacMAHON. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



33^ 



ted States, I never had a doubt. The Tory 
party in Prussia, to wliich I am supposed to 
beio ip. at the outbreak of your war. besought 
tho Kinp to recognize the South. I opposed 
it inflexibly. 'I'o me it was clear that the 
North only could be the true ally of Prussia ; 
with the South we had nothing in common. 
'J'he Government of Prussia never wavered 
in its friendship for yours. [The sentence 
was uttered proudly, and the burning eyes 
flamed brighter than ever.] It is a tradi- 
tional policy with us. Frederick the Great 
was, I think, the first European sovereign 
to recognize your independence. I am 
heartily glad to know that America under- 
stands and reciprocates the friendly feeling 
we have steadily maintained." 

And here follows a curious statement — a 
fact not known to me before, and 1 think un- 
published in America. " At the beginning 
of our war," said Count Bismarck, "Austria 
was stronger than we on the water, and 
Italy was not sure to us. It was proposed 
to me that the leading Southern naval offi- 
cers should join us with .5,000 men and suita- 
ble vessels. They were not to come' at all as 
the Confederate navy, but as individuals, 
and the most eminent officers among them 
were included in the offer. I consulted your 
Minister to know whether an acceptance of 
this offer would be offensive to the American 
Government. Mr. Wright was in doubt, 
and wrote to Washington. He received in- 
structions to oppose the scheme, and I at 
once declined having anything to do with it. 
Semmes made the proposal." 

ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION OF THE KING OF 
PRUSSIA AT BERLIN. 

The King arrived at Berlin on the 16th of 
July from Ems, and found fully 100.000 peo- 
ple at the station waiting to escort him to the 
palace. The route lay through the splendid 
street, Unter den Linden, which was covered 
with flags and grandly illuminated for the 
occasion. All along the march the crowd 
shouted, cheered and sang national hymns. 
The King afterward repeatedly came forward 
and saluted the crowd from the palace win- 
dows. 

The volunteering all over Prussia was ex- 
traordinary. The entire male population de- 
manding arms, 

'i'he North German Parliament met on 
July 20th, to vote the necessary credits for 
war expenses. 

King William sent to the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Haml)urg a grateful acknowledg- 
ment of the patriotic address of that body. 
He regrets the sacrifice which the honor of 
Germany exacts, but will do his duty, leav- 
ing the event in the hands of God. 

On the night of the 17th of July, 1870, 
the first 

INVASION OF PRUSSIANS UPON FRENCH 
SOIL 

was made. They advanced as far as Sierck, 
in the Department of Moselle, for the evi> 
3 



dent purpose of destroying the railroad at 
that point ; and on the same date, railway and 
telegraphic communication between France 
and Prussia was stopped. Count Benedetti 
arrived in Paris a few days before. Coming 
from Ems instead of Berlin, he did not re- 
ceive his passport. He came to give the 
Emperor verbal explanations. 

Baron Werther, the North German Min- 
ister, and all the members of his embassy 
left Paris the same day, for Berlin. 

Before the departure of Baron Werther, 
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 
expressed his regret on account of the con- 
duct of Prussia and the course Baron Wer- 
ther himself had chosen to take before the 
final rupture of friendly relations. It is said 
that when the Baron returned here from 
Ems a few days ago, he neglected to call 
upon the Duke of Gramont until the latter 
had sent for him, and even then said " he had 
nothing to communicate." This coldness 
created great surprise. 

Eight days before, the Count Bismarck 
sent by special messenger to Baron Werther, 
the Ambassador of the North German Con- 
federation, an order to make no conce.^sion 
to the French Government. " Do not be too 
much impressed," Bismarck continues in his 
dispatch ; " -we are ready. Prolong the situa- 
tion, if possible, to the 20th of July." 

'I'he French Journals argued from this, 
that Prussia meant war from the beginning, 
and only sought to gain time. 

About this time, great activity prevailed 
in the Prussian Fortresses of Rastadt, in Ba- 
den. The soldiers of Baden, commanded by 
Prussian officers, were detailed to man the 
ramparts and parapets, and Prince Royal 
Frederick William took corpmand of the 
armies of the States of Southern Germany. 

On the l8th of July, the Emperor of the 
French left For the seat of war, with the 
Prince Imperial, a mere boy. "The Em- 
peror, his father, wished it, and his mother, 
the Empress, did not object." Marshals 
MacMahon, Bazaine, and Canrobert, were 
appointed to couiniand the main divisions of 
the Imperial French forces. 

MARSHAL MACMAHON. 

Marshal MacMahon, who held chief com 
mand of the French army, has well earned 
the reputation of a brave and skilful soldier. 
His father was a Lieutenant-General in the 
armies of France, and had him educated at 
the military school of St. Cyr. At the age 
of nineteen, he was sub-Lieutenant in the 
4th Hussars. He exchanged into a regiment 
bound for Africa, where, on the hill of Mon- 
zai. Gen. Clanzel rewarded him with the 
Cross of the Legion of Honor, on account of 
the reckless daring he had displayed. An 
incident in the African campaign shows his 
intrepid character. At the close of the suc- 
cessful battle of Terchia. Gen. A chard wished 
to send an order to Col. Rulhieres at Bli<lah, 
between three and four miles off, to change 
the order of his march. This commission ho 



u 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



entrusted to MacMahon, and offered him a 
squadron of mounted chasseurs as an escort. 
He declined their protection, and rode off 
alone. His journey lay entirely through the 
enemy's country, which was rugged and ir- 
regular. About six hundred yards from 
Blidah lay a ravine, broad, deep, and pre- 
cipitous. MacMahon had risen close to the 
ravine, when suddenly he beheld a host of 
Arabs in full pursuit of him from every side. 
One look told him his chances. There was 
no alternative than to jump the treacherous 
abyss, or be butchered by his pursuers. He 
set his horse's head at the leap, put spur and 
whip to it, and cleared the ravine at a bound. 
The pursuing Arabs, dismayed, ventured no 
further, and only sent after the daring sol- 
dier a shower of bullets, as horse and rider 
rolled over on the other side, with the poor 
steed's leg broken. At the attack on Con- 
stantino he received further promotion. He 
continued connected with African warfare 
and public affairs until the opening of the 
Russian war, when more favorable opportu- 
nity to attain military fame presented itself. 
On tke 8th of September, the perilous honor 
devolved on him of carrying the Malakoff, 
which formed the key of the defences of Se- 
ba§topol. The impetuous ardor of his troops 
proved irresistible. They entered the works, 
and maintained for hours a desperate conflict 
with the Russians. Pellissier, the Comman- 
der-in-Chief, believed the fort was mined. 
He sent MacMahon orders to retire. "I 
will hold my ground," was the reply, " dead 
or alive." Success crowned his bravery, and 
the tricolor soon floated above the fortress. 

After more brilliant services in Algeria, 
the Austrian war next called him to the 
field. In one week from the commencement 
of hostilities, the French had driven back 
the Austrians across the Ticino, turned their 
flank, and forced them to give battle. With 
a suddenness which the French had not an- 
ticipated, the Austrians, on the 4th of June, 
1859, with a force of 150,000 men, attacked 
the advancing French at the bridge of Ma- 
genta. The choicest French troops were 
there, and they met the attack with un- 
broken front, and drove back the foe with 
loss. But the Austrians, re-enforced at 
every moment, seemed destined to be the 
victors. MacMahon with the force under 
his command had, early in the day, crossed 
the river farther up to execute a flank move- 
ment. He heard the booming of the guns, 
find in a moment realized the situation. 
Hastily reversing his orders, he advanced 
against the enemy. The movement proved 
decisive. The Austrians were utterly routed, 
and fled in disorder, leaving 7,000 prisoners 
in the hands of the victors, and 20,000 sol- 
diers killed and wounded on the field of bat- 
tle. In 1861, MacMahon, now Duke of 
Magenta, attended the coronation of William 
of Prussia, whom now he encounters in 
deadly warfare. In physical appearance, 
Marshal MacMahon is rather below the 
auddle size, with small, but well-shaped face 



and head, and spare, lightsome figure. Ho 
is now in his sixty-second year. 

MARSHAL CANBOBEBT. 

Marshal Canrobert has been the com- 
panion-in-arms of MacMahon on many a 
hard-fought field. At the age of twenty-six 
he left France for the African campaign, and 
took an active share in some desjterate con- 
flicts. In 1837. he received his first wound 
on the breach at the assault on ('(instant ine. 
He fell at the side of Colonel Combes, who, 
dying, recommended him to Marshal Valiee, 
saying, "There is a brilliant future for this 
officer." Until 1849, Canrobert was engaged 
in the most desperate engagements of the 
Algerian campaigns, and on the accession of 
Prince Napoleon to power, he attached him- 
self to his fortunes. He commanded the 
French forces in the Crimea for some time, 
and shared in all the earlier battles fought 
during the operations against Sehastopol. 
During the Italian war he displayed great 
daring at Magenta, and at Solferino was 
charged with duties upon which depended 
the issue of that battle. 

THE EXCITEIIENT IN FABIS. 

The Empress arrived in Parjs on the 17th 
of July, from St. Cloud, and was enthusiasti- 
cally received. 

A loan of six months treasury bonds, to 
the amount of 500,000.000 francs, was taken 
up in a few hours. The Credit Foncier and 
the Bank of France made eflbrts to monopo- 
lize the entire amount. 

Passports were sent to the Count d« 
Solms, in charge of the afiairs of the Prus- 
sian Legation, the moment news was re- 
ceived that Prussian troops had crossed the 
frontier. Regiments were passing through 
the city all night on their way to the fron- 
tier. Great crowds gathered on the side- 
walks, and cheered the soldiers as they 
passed. At all the gardens and places of 
amusement patriotic demonstrations were 
made. 

The excitement was intense. No opposi- 
tion to the war was made, and the press de- 
nounced the speech of M. Thiers in the 
CoBPS Legisi.atip. 

It was announced that 280,000 French 
troops were ready to cross into Germany. 
The announcement that the Emperor in- 
tended to head the army in person, and by a 
series of rapid movements arrive at the 
Rhine before Prussia completed her defences, 
was received with great cheering. 

An order was issued that the pupils of the 
second year at the Military School of St. 
Cyb join the army, with the rank of sub-lifeu- 
tenants. 

FBOCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE AND COBPS 
LEGISLATIF— DISCUSSION OF THE WAR 
QUESTION— THE DEMANDS OF THE GOV- 
ERNMENT ACCEDED TO. 
In the Corps L^gislatif, M. Thiers, in a 

long speech, pronounced against the decla 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



35 



mation of the Govprnraent. He found, after 
all was said, tliat France had received satis- 
faction from Prussia, and war should not be 
made on her for a mere formality. 

Prime Minister Ollivier responded to M. 
Thiers. He said it was impossible for the 
(government to do otherwise than it had 
done. 

M. Thiers again took the floor. He recalled 
Mexico and Sadowa, and said the Govern- 
ment had made a new blunder. 

The majority interrupted the speaker, but 
he continued amid the greatest agitation. 
When silence was restored, M. Gambetta de- 
manded that all the correspondence had with 
Prussia be laid before the Corps L6gislatif. 

Jules Favre seconded the motion in a long 
speech, asserting that France could not make 
war on the authority of telegraphic dispatches. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs replied 
that it was necessary to make war, and to do 
so immediately, in order to give Prussia no 
time to arm. If any other course was pur- 
sued he could no longer remain in the Min- 
istry. 

The question was then put to vote, and the 
demand for the correspondence was rejected 
by 164 against 84. The Corps then adjourned 
till 8 o'clock in the evening. 

On reassembling, the following projects of 
law were brought forward : 

First. To call the Garde Mobile into active 
service. 

Second. To authorize the enlistment of 
volunteers for the war. 

Third. To issue a demand loan of 50.000,- 
OOQ francs in aid of the army, and 16,000,000 
m aid of the n?ivy. 

After a short debate, all these propositions 
were carried by the following vote : For, 246 ; 
against, 10. Many members of the party of 
the Left refused to vote. 

In the Senate yesterday, after the Duke of 
Gramont had finished his declaration, M. 
Rouher asked if any Senator wished to speak. 
Loud cries of " no, no," followed. 

M. Rouher then said : " As President of 
the Senate I will state that the Senate, re- 
sponding for the nation, approves the con- 
duct of the Government. We must place 
our hopes in Providence, and rely upon our 
courage for the triumph of our rights." 

After the session the Senate proceeded in 
a body to St. Cloud, where they were received 
by the Emperor and Empress. 

M. Rouher, President, said "the Senate 
thanked the Emperor for the permission of 
•X pressing to the Throne its patriotic senti- 
ments. A monarchial combination, injurious 
to the prestige and security of France, had 
been mysteriously favored by Prussia. On our 
representations, Prince Leopold renounced 
the throne of Spain. Spain, who returns our 
friendship, then renounced a candidature so 
wounding to us. Without doubt, immediate 
danger was thus avoided ; but our legitimate 
complaint remains. Was it not evident tliat 
a foreign power, to prejudice our honor and 
interests, wished to disturb the balance of 



power in Europe ? Had we not the right to 
demand of that power guarantees against a. 
possible recurrence of such an attempt ? Thi» 
is refused, and the dignity of France insulted. 
Your Majesty draws the sword, and the coun- 
try is with you, eager for and proud of the occa- 
sion. You have waited long; but during 
this time you raised to perfection the mili- 
tary organization of France. By your care 
France is prepared. Her enthusiasm proves 
that, like your Majesty, she will not tolerate^ 
wrong. Let our august Empress becoma 
again the depositary of the imperial power. 
The great bodies of the State surround Her 
Majesty with their absolute devotion. The? 
nation has faith in her wisdom and energy. 
Let your Majesty resume with noble confi- 
dence the command of the legions you led at 
Magenta and Solferino. If peril has come^ 
the hour of victory is near, and soon a grata 
ful country will decree to her children th< 
honors of triumph ; soon Germany will hi 
freed from the domination which has op 
pressed her, and peace will be restored t< 
Europ* through the glory of our arms. You! 
Majesty, who so recently received a proof of 
the national good will, may then once mor© 
devote yourself to reforms, the realization of 
which is only retarded. Time only is needed 
to conquer." 

The Emperor warmly thanked the Press- 
dent and members of the Senate. 

The war feeling had, by this time, takea 
entire control of the inhabitants of Paris. 

The Duke of Gramont, after leaving thes 
Senate Chamber, was greeted by crowds upom 
the streets with most enthusiastic cheers and^ 
plaudits. 

A demonstration was made in front of the- 
residence of M. Thiers to express dissatisfac- 
tion at his course in the Corps LfigislatiL 
'I'his was followed by a demonstration in hisf 
favor. The latter, the Journal de France 
says, was not respectably supported, and wa© 
the work of " unknown creatures." 

The troops in Paris sang the "MarseiU 
laise." and the artistes at the various places 
of amusement were allowed to sing it alscv 
the audiences in all cases joining enthusiasm 
tically. Everywhere the boulevards an(i 
streets were crowded with people almost wild- 
with excitement. 

A FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAB FBOIC 
FBANCE TO FBUSSIA. 

On the 18th of July, 1870. a formal declaram 
tion of war was sent by France to Berlin^ 
France also informed Prussia that she will 
not use explosive bullets if Prussia will nofa. 

THE FORMAL DECLARATION. 

THE EXCUSE OP PRANCE — IMMENSE PREPARATIONS- 
POPULAR DEMONSTRATIONS ON BOTH SIDES. 

An extra edition of the Gonstitutionnet- 
issued at noon, announced that in cousr 
quence of the insult offered to Benedetti (th 
French Minister), France accepts the wi 
which Prussia offers. 



36 



THE FRANCO-GERMAIT WAR. 



The French declaration of war is based on 
the following causes : 

Pirst : The insult offered at Ems to Count 
Benedetti, the French Minister, and its ap- 
|)roval by the Prussian Grovernraent. 

Second: The refusal of the King of Prussia 
to compel the withdrawal of Prince Leopold's 
mame as a candidate for the Spanish throne. 

Third: The fact that the King persisted 
in giving the Prince liberty to accept the 
"Srown. 
I The declaration concludes as follows : 

''The extraordinary constitutional changes 
sa Prussia awaken the slumbering recolfec- 
tions of 1814. Let us cross the Rhine, and 
avenge the insxilts of Prussia. The victors 
■of Jena survive." 

The Bundesrath of the North German 
Cvonfederation met in Berlin. The Prussian 
Diet was already in session. The chiefs of 
tall parties assured the King of their unquali- 
Sed approval of his dignified and energetic 
attitude. 

The belligerents engaged to respect the 
fieutrality of Belgium, yet troops were rapidly 
e@ncentrating at Antwerp and other strategic 
y points. The specie and bullion in the Na- 
tional Bank at Antwerp were removed to the 
citadel, and an issue of paper money an- 
EJ-ounced. 

THE UNITED STATES. 

German mass meetings were held through- 
out the Union. These led to the organization 
of Aid Societies, etc., etc. 

THE MASS MEETING AT STEINWAT HALL, 
NEW YORK CITY. 

(By our OTrn Correspondent.) 

New York City, July 21si, 1870. 

'The war enthusiasm prevailing among the 
German population of this city culminated 
last night in a grand mass meeting at Stein- 
way Hall, called by a Committee of the 
leading Germans residing in this city. At 
8 o'clock, the appointed time of the meeting, 
the hall was full to repletion. Not only the 
4,000 seats, but every inch of standing-room 
isk balcony and aisles, was occupied, and 
crowds overflowed into the halls, about every 
door-way, vainly striving for admission. 
Notwithstanding the crowd, and the enthusi- 
asm which prevailed, the whole proceeding 
as notable for the orderly and decorous 
conduct characteristic with the German 
people on such occasions. They came and 
went unmolested, " paceable as kin be." As 
the policeman expressed it, " they're all on 
the won side 1" Nothing like a disturbance 
occurred to mar the demonstration. 

In the Hall, the stage was appropriately 
decorated with American and German flags ; 
•file invited guests seated in rows along the 
rear and sides of the stage, and the band in 
th& orchestra chairs ; the space in front, 
sabout the speakers' stand, being left open. 

Beside the speakers of the evening, whose 
saames are given below, there were many 



prominent citizens among the 50 gentlemen 
seated upon the stage, including Mr.Petrarch, 
the Secretary of the Society for the Aid of 
the Wounded and Sick Soldiers of Prussia, 
and of Soldiers' Widows ; and Gen. Sigel and 
Messrs. Wra. Steinway, E. Tauer, President 
of the New German American Bank, Hugo 
Wesendouck. Dr. Krakowitzer, and Messrs. 
Bauendahl, Schlesinger, Roelker, Kunoth, 
and other well-known merchants. 

A feature of the evening was the singing 
of the Liederkranz and Arion Societies, who 
joined forces for ihe occasion. At about 8:15 
they filed across Union-square, arm in arm, 
numbering about 100 voices, and entered the 
rear door of the hall. " Die Macht am Rhein" 
and " Was ist dgs Deutschen Vaterland " 
were received with great applause. The 
appropriate words of the latter, the magnifi- 
cent national air of the whole German-speak 
ing race, aroused tremendous enthusiasm. 
The very first lines embody the feeling which 
binds all the American Germans together as 
a unit against France : 

" Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland ? 
Ist's Preusseiilrtiid? ist's Sohwabenland? 
Ist's wo am Rhein difi Kebe glueht? 
Ist's wo am Kelt die Moewe zieht? 

nein, nein, uein, 
Sein Vaterland muss groesser sein. 
* * * if sf ^ m 
"Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland? 
So neiine endlioli mir das Land ! 
So weit die di-iit.sche Zunge klingt 
Und Gott im Iljmrael Lieder siugt — 

Das soil es sein, 
Das gauze Deutscliland soil es sein." 

A work of art was exhibited during thu 
evening, which caused much amusement. It 
was: a brilliantly-colored banner, representing 
the " End of the War." The short and some- 
what pursy figure of Napoleon was represented 
as hanging by the neck, his characteristic 
countenance distorted with anguish, while 
beneath the figure of Peace waves the banner 
of victorious Prussia before the eyes of a 
returned soldier, and other characters. 

The business of the meeting was com- 
menced by Mr. Petrarch, who called the 
assembly to . order at 8 o'clock. He nomi- 
nated ex-Gov. Salomon for Chairman, who 
was chosen by acclamation. 

SPEECH OF EX-GOVERNOR SALOMON. 

Gov. Salomon then spoke as follows : 
Fellow Gkrman Brothers: — In the first 
place, I thank you for the honor you confer 
upon me by making me Chairman of this 
mass meeting. Among the first remem- 
brances of us German Americans is the 
storm through which this country passed, 
and in which we showed our loyalty. When 
this country, in her hour of need, called you, 
yoM responded, and your blood, spilled on 
the battle-field and recorded in history, show^ 
that Germans know how to fight for their 
land of adoption. Therefore we dare say thai 
this meeting, where we expect to express our 
sympathy for our mother country, and stand 
by it as much as our duty to the laws of our 
adopted country permit, is not amiss ; Ainer* 



THE FRA.NCO-GERMAN WAR. 



37 



tea is our father, and Germany our rnother. 
We owe allegiance to both. The man who 
in 1848 could cause women and children to be 
killed in the streets of Paris, who ever since 
has kept Europe in a continued fear ; he, 
with one foot in the grave, tries to preserve 
his tottering throne for his son, and has de- 
clared war upon Germany to give the mer- 
curial and vain-glorious Frenchman some- 
thing to think of beside revolution. The 
reason he gave for the war has been taken 
^way — the German Prince who was to as- 
cend the throne of Spain has withdrawn. 
But Napoleon feels his throne giving way. 
The farce of the Plebiscitum did not help 
him. He wishes to maintain his power at 
the expense of German blood and German 
unity. 

The French jealousy of German power is 
the true cause of the present conflict. Ger- 
many must be divided, annihilated, to make 
France greater, and therefore we stand on 
the eve of one of the most tremendous wars 
ever witnessed, and which will decide the 
fate of Germany. Germany should be united 
in taking up the glove thrown down by 
France. France wants to see Germany di- 
vided, and therefore it wishes war. Let us 
be united. We Germans of America should 
send to our brothers in fatherland the tiding 
that we are with them in the fight and have 
brotherly feelings with them ; that we will 
do all we can for them, witliout forgetting 
our duty to the United States. Once more 
I say, let us be united. 

THE RESOLUTIONS. 

Bx-Governor Salomon continued : " Mr. 
Petrarch will now read to you resolutions 
which we propose for your adoption." The 
resolutions were then read, and are as fol- 
lows : 

Common sense demands that international 
relations be governed by the interests of na- 
tions and not by those of princes. Every 
nation has the right to determine its own 
destiny, and no other people is authorized to 
cripple it. If Germany is weary of its inter- 
nal discords of many centuries, and if the one 
nation desires a consolidation under one gov- 
ernment, no right of veto is given to any 
power on earth. If France covets the leader- 
ship in Europe, Germany is not, therefore, 
bound to do it the favor to remain in weak- 
ness. If France chooses an emperor, and if 
the throne of this emperor is on a firm foun- 
dation but so long as he is the mightiest of 
princes, this does not bind the German peo- 
ple to lay the insignia of their inalienable 
sovereignty at the feet of the Gallican Caesar. 
Not against Prussia, but against strengthened 
Germany his ire is directed. To Germany 
he has thrown down the arauntlet to mortal 
combat. Therefore not Prussia alone, but 
the entire German nation rises in its full 
majesty against the audacious man, who pre- 
sumes to trample nations in the dust to 
^gfratifylis princely lust. The Geniums of 



America have become ciiijiens of another 
country, but they have not divested them- 
selves of their nationality. The national 
cause is their cause. Unanimously they 
stand by it, firmly resolved to do all in their 
power, not inconsistent with their duties a» 
American citizens, to turn the war which 
has been commenced by France, without any 
just cause whatever, to a triumph for Ger- 
many. It is therefore 

Resolved, 1. That we herewith organize a. 
society for the purpose of furthering thty 
cause of Germany, and moro particularly 
for the purpose of nursing wounded (lermaia 
soldiers and of assisting in the support of the 
surviving widows and orphans. 

2. That an Executive Committee, consist- 
ing of Philip Bissinger, Dr. H. von Hoist, 
F. Kilian, Dr. E. Krakowitzer, Henry Merz, 
Oswald Ottendorfer, Theo. F. 0. Petrarch, 
Edward Salomon, Emil Sauer, Prof. A. J^ 
Schem, Gen. Franz Sigel, William Steinway, 
L. J, Stiastny, and Hugo Wesendonck, be 
intrusted with the management of all afiairs 
of this society. 

3. That every German society of the city 
of New York and vicinity be invited to sen^ 
one delegate to the General Committee, whose 
duty it shall be to make proper arrangements 
for the collection of contributions of moneyj, 
clothing, linen, lint, etc., during the continu- 
ance of the war. 

4. That both the Executive and the Geiv- 
eral Committee be authorized to increase 
their respective numbers as they may deerca 
proper, and to enter into communication with 
similar societies of other cities and towns. 

In accordance with the principles abov® 
enunciated, it is further 

Resolved, That humanity and modern civ- 
ilization demand that the inviolability of pri- 
vate persons and private property be recog^ 
nized by belligerent powers also at sea ; thai 
the exertions of the United States and of 
other powers to embody this principle in the 
law of nations, deserve the highest regard; 
and that, considering that this principle was 
first brought to recognition by the United 
States in their treaty with Frederick the 
Great in the year 1785, was subsequently, 
after various other efi'orts, brought to the 
attention of the powers of Europe by th® 
well-known amendment proposed by Mr. 
Marcy to the 'J'reaty of Paris of 1856, mid 
has thereby obtained in history the name oS 
the " American Amendment ;" considering^ 
further, that tliis principle has already here 
tofore been recognized by all the great Pow- 
ers of Europe, with the exception of Eng- 
land, that particularly Napoleon I. and also 
the present Emperor of France have givers 
their unconditional adherence to its right- 
eousness, and that the King of Prussia has 
even, in case of reciprocity, elevated it in the 
year 1866 to a permanent law, we deem this 
the proper time of the Government of the 
United States to use at once all peaeefaJ 
means at their command to secure the ad- 
herence alsu of France to this principle, autl 



38 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN AYAR. 



rlts respect by the belligerents during the 
gtresent war, and also, as soon as possible, its 
arecognition by all civilized nations, for all 
future time, as a principle of international 
Saw. 

Resolved further, That, to this and this 
imeeting do appoint a Committee, consisting 
of Edward Salomon, Joseph Seligman, and 
Oswald Ottendorfer, whose duty it shall be 
iio lay the foregoing resolution before the 
President of the United States and the Sec- 
retary of State, and generally to take such 
a,ction as they may deem proper to obtain 
from the Government a fulfilment of its 
great traditional duty to humanity. 

l\, SPEECH OF SENATOR GAEL SCHTJKZ. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted 
amid loud cheers, and after singing of " Die 
Wacht am Rhein " by the " Arion and Lie- 
derkrantz Singers' Union," Governor Salo- 
mon introduced General Carl Schurz, who 
was received with tliunders of applause. He 
eaid : 

My German Fellow-Citizens : I come to 
you to-night exhausted by long work and a 
prolonged session of the United States Con- 
gress. I don't know whether I shall be able 
to speak to you as I might have wished. I 
iiad hoped to have some rest, when the call 
(Came which will give no rest to any one. I 
■wish to mingle my voice with the voice of 
the mass meeting which gives exprfession not 
only to the feeling of Germans, but of Amer- 
?ans as well. In this moment the whole of 
Imerica speaks. A bloody war tragedy de- 
elops itself on the Eastern Continent. We 
11 know that war is the worst of evils, and 
e who begins it without sufficient reason 
ikes upon himself a terrible responsibility. 
Ipain tried to have a German Prince ascend 
A weak and worthless throne. France con- 
sidered the choice of that German Prince an 
insult. Could any one with clear common 
sense imagine that in this, the nineteenth 
■century, the century of civilization, a war of 
succession could revolutionize Europe ? — 
Kings may be relatives ; they should not for- 
,g'et that nations are related also. 

The first ground upon which war was de- 
!<clared was a lie. The Prince ha:d withdrawn 
^jefore it was declared. The second point was 
the insult of the King to a French Ambassador. 
"Why was this insult offered ? Because he 
did what no gentleman should do or does. 
lie wished, while the King was drinking min- 
eral waters, to put him to an ultimatum, and 
Jie was rightly reprimanded. Kings, as a 
general thing, are not favorites in this coun- 
try, but William has acted as a gentleman. 
'{Loud cheers.] Every German should be 
glad that a man is on the throne of Prussia 
who dares show his teeth, and is not intimi- 
dated by bravado. 

Now, this so-called insult was only another 
subterfuge. Ask Napoleon if he would have 
.-acted as Benedetti did, or if having done so, 
lie would have considered the consequence as 
an insult? No one is deceived by words, and 



no one believes the pretext. Every on« 
knows that France wishes to dictate. Napo- 
leon well knows that French honor is a pecu^ 
liar honor. When any nation acquires one 
foot of ground, France wants the same, or 
considers the aggrandizement as an insult. 
When taking a province herself, she does not 
wish to have anything said. The policy of 
Napoleon has been to consolidate the R( man 
nationality, at the same time he tried to upset 
German union. At the head of France. Na- 
poleon considers every concentration of power 
and union in Germany as a personal insult 
to France, because it lessens its prestige. 
Balance of power in Europe means, according 
to Napoleon, that France shall be a Httle 
heavier than the rest. And now the two 
great Powers of Europe stancl armed in op- 
position. The war will be one of unprece- 
dented extent, and will decide the future faite 
of Germany, maybe of Europe. 

In one of the evening papers the story of 
an Englishman is given, who, having seen the 
two armies in position, says : " In the French 
camp there is loud and hilarious enthusiasm. 
The soldiers are drinking, shouting, and 
cheering. In the German camp all is quiet, 
but that quiet bespeaks determination." And 
it is a good sketch. With the usual French 
enthusiasm and bravado, the French army 
will cross the Rhine and enter Germany, 
there to be silently, but firmly, met by Ger- 
man bayone-ts. The Germans no longer are 
the soldiers of Jena, as Napoleon vainly tries 
to make his army believe. They have learned 
since then, and Sadowa shows what they 
have learned. But what will be the end of 
this all ? Not evil only. One great thing 
has already been accomplished. 

Germany is united. It was not so a week 
ago. The factions still rankled and glowed 
in the German breast. To-day nothing is 
there but a brotherly feeling, a sentiment of 
hate against an aggressive tyrant. Natur- 
ally our hopes are with our flag. The vic- 
tory of Prussia will be the fall of despotism; 
the fall of a system which has made slaves 
of Europeans ; the fall of- a system which has 
spread damnable poverty and ignominy, and 
above all, it M'ill be the erection of a great 
kingdom in the centre of Europe, a kingdom 
which will be peace in reality and not in word 
only. 

Therefore, it is not strange that the Ger- 
mans and Americans are with us. A finer 
instinct makes the American see the finer 
and truer nature of the German. He knows 
that the day is not far distant when balance 
of power in Europe will be a name only. He 
knows that in case of need he can safely rely 
on German arms. Ithas not forgotten our help 
in the late struggle. Therefore, America is 
on the German side. Is it not right — nay, is 
it not a duty that we all should help ? 1 do 
call on you as German born. He who could 
forget father or mother, cannot be a good 
citizen. Let us not fear that America will 
mistake or misconstrue our action. We 
could not love our new country, our land of 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



41 



adoption, if we did forget our old country, the 
land of our birth. 

Let us help and act at the same time in 
accordance with tlie laws here. These laws 
do not forbid our sympathy, nor do they for- 
bid us to help the sick and wounded. Let us 
then be united and give what we can, and let 
us daily send to our brothers over the water 
the message : " Fijjht for Fatherland. The 
Germans of the whole world are with you." 

After several speeches from well-known 
gentlemen, the audience dispersed with loud 
cries of " vive la Prussia I" 

WHY THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA SYM- 
PATHIZE WITH PRUSSIA. 

. While the French Emperor was doing all 
in his power to injure and humiliate the 
United states during the great war of the 
Rebellion, there were two hundred thousand 
German-born citizens fighting under the flag 
of the Union, and offering: their Hves for the 
liberties of America. These two facts, in 
themselves, go far to explain the sympathies 
of the American people with Germany in 
the present war. 

Many things are said and performed under 
the excitement of the moment by our Ger- 
man-American citizens, and afterward re- 
pented of. 

It was at least in bad taste to display a 
picture of the French Emperor suspended 
from a gibbet, at a meeting participated in 
by an American Senator, an American ex- 
General, and an American ex-Governor. The 
American people are not at war with the 
French Emperor. Our more excitable citi- 
zens of German birth must not make any 
mistakes which will injure their own cause 
in America. 

The French Emperor should not meddle 
with other people's business. He interfered 
in Mexican affairs, and lost by it. He med- 
dled with American affairs to help Jeff. 
Davis, and suffered by it. He was humili- 
ated in his attempts at interfering with Ger- 
man affairs four years ago. In now meddling 
WHth Spanish and Prussian affairs, he may 
meet witli the same kind of bad luck which 
he has previously suffered by this officious 
intermeddling. 

The war is not between France and Prus- 
sia. Neither is it between Napoleon and 
King William. It is a war between the peo- 
ple of Prussia and the Napoleonic dynasty, 
for the integrity of the Prussian nationality. 
In Prussia, the king counts for very little. 
He is old ; is soon to pass away, and to be 
succeeded by a liberal heir. He is now, ab- 
solutist and believer in his own divine right 
as he is, merely the representative of the 
demands of the German people for a com- 
plete nationality, and of the instinctive re- 
sentment which all Germans, whether Prus- 
sians, Bavarians, citizens of the smaller 
German states, or even Austrians, feel 
against the French aggression. Napoleon, 
on the other hand, is in no sense a repre- 
sentative of the French people. By skilful 



manipulations he may succeed in aroaeing- 
popular pride and stimulating national re- 
sentments to such a pitch that France may 
ultimately support hnn ; but in the outset he 
was merely the persistent gambler he has 
always been — driven, however, into sore 
straits — and is playing, in a desperate emer- 
gency, his last card. Whatever else may 
happen, it is impossible that the American 
people can sympathize with him. If the 
question were between him and King Wil 
Ham, they would sympathize with neither 
As it is, cherishing no ill-will to the French, 
and earnestly wishing them the deliverance 
which is likely to come from the present 
complications, the Americans, nevertheless, 
are likely to give the sympathies of their 
whole hearts to the cause of the Prussian 
people, with which is bound up so much of 
hope, progress, and the possibility of freedom 
and national growth, not merely for Prussia, 
but even for the true France of the future. 

It is given to man as his chiefest blessing 
to hope against hope, and we do not despair 
of the final deliverance of all nations from 
kingcraft. But we are warned by the results 
of all recent struggles not to expect it in our 
day. The Polish and Hungarian rebellions, 
the reconstruction of Italy and the last Span- 
ish revolution, as well as the submission of 
France and Prussia to imperialism, are suffi- 
cient to prove that emancipation of the 
masses is yet far distant. Remembrance of 
these things ought to diminish the universal 
amazement that there is a war of succession 
in our time. 

ACTUAL OPERATIONS COMMENCED. 

About the 17th of July, 1870, skirmishing 
commenced between the advance guards 
along the frontier. Four killed and seven 
wounded on the Prussian side. The French 
loss was double these numbers. 

PROCLAMATION FROM NAPOLEON. 

Paris, July 23d, 1870. 
Frenchmen : There are in the life of a 
people solemn moments when the national 
honor, violently excited, presses itself irre- 
sistibly, rises above all other interests, and 
applies itself with the single purpose of 
directing the destinies of the nation. One 
of those decisive hours has now arrived for 
France. Prussia, to whom we have given 
evidence during and since the war of 1856, 
of the most conciliatory disposition, has held 
our good will of no account, and has returned 
our forbearance by encroachments. She 
has aroused distrust in all quarters necessi- 
tating exaggerated armaments, and has made 
of Europe a camp where reign disquiet and 
fear of the morrow. A final incident has 
disclosed the instability of the international 
understanding, and shown the gravity of the 
situation. In the presence of her new pre- 
tensions Prussia was made to understand 
our claims. They were evaded and followed 
with contemptuous treatment. Our country 



42 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



manifestecl profound displeasure at this action, 
and quickly a war cry resounded from one 
end of France to the other. 

There remains for us nothing but to con- 
fide our destinies to the chance of arms. We 
do not make war upon Germany, whose 
independeufe we respect. We pledge our- 
selves that the people composing the great 
Germanic nationality shall dispose freely of 
their destinies. As for us, we demand the 
establisliment of a state of things guaran- 
teeing our security and assuring the future. 
We wish to conquer a durable peace, based 
on the true interests of the people, and to. 
assiist in abolishing that precarious condition 
of .things when all nations are forced to 
employ their resources m arming against 
each other. 

The glorious flag of France, which we 
once more unfurl in the face of our challeng- 
ers, is the same which has borne over Kurope 
the civilizing ideas of our great revolution. 
It represents the same principles ; it will in- 
spire the same devotion. 

Fkenthmen : I go to place myself at the 
head of that gallant army, which is animated 
by love of country and devotion to duty. 
That army knows its worth, for it has seen 
victory follow its footsteps in the four 
quarters of the globe. I take with me my 
Bon. Despite his tender years he knows the 
duty his name imposes upon him, and he is 
proud to bear his part in the dangers of 
those who fight for our country. May God 
bless our efforts. A great people defending 
a just cause is invincible. 

Napoleon. 

IMPEACHMENT OF NAPOLEON III. 

The Paris Sotr publishes from the pen of 
M. Kdmond About, the following masterly 
review of Napoleon's official career, and 
statement of the sufferings he has entailed 
upon France : 

May I be mistaken ! But it seera'^ to me 
that we are now beginning to pay very dearly 
our collective abdication in 1851 and 1852. 
A people may imagine itself in clover when 
it has relieved itself from the trouble of 
managing its own affairs, and when it has 
confided its destinies to the hands of a bold 
and able man. The Constitution leaves to 
this man the power of commanding the land 
and sea forces, declaring war and making 
treaties of peace and alliance. What an 
excellent pretext for humble individuals to 
spare themselves the trouble of thinking 
about public matters, and laying themselves 
out to make as much money as possible in 
their own private occupations. But let us 
Buppose that the master elected by the 
people has more imagination than genius ; 
that he has the appetite of a conqueror with- 
out the firmness and the settled purpose 
necessary to success ; that he reckons too 
much upon his star, and expects from luck 
and the mistakes of others the results which 
lie ought deliberately to prepare for himself. 
Let us suppose that he lives from hand to 



mouth, tempting fortune instead of maldng 
himself master of it. Always advancing, 
drawing back, and oscillating between the 
possible and the impossible, and what is 
more serious, between the just and the un- 
just ; now a champion of Right, and to- 
morrow a champion of State necessity ; a 
Revolutionist or a Reactionist, just as it may 
happen, and ever ready to make a hash of 
his principles for the sake of expediency, it 
is not at all impossible that one fine day 
38,000,000 of men may rouse themselves 
and express their dissatisfaction in a way 
not easily to be dealt with. Frenchmen, 
my good friends, only think of the great 
things which you have done by procuration 
within the last twenty years. On yuur 
behalf your governors have dreamed for you 
the conquest of the world, and universal 
monarchy, or at least the supremacy of 
Europe, with the extension of your frontiers. 
In 1849, when you were nominally Republi- 
cans, you violently put down the Ronrtn 
Republic; you fought in Italy for that 
Divine right which you have suppressed in 
Paris : you restored the Pope, who does not 
thank you, and pays you with all sorts of af- 
fronts. At Sebastopol you humiliated but did 
not weaken Russia: you sacrificed a hundred 
thousand men and spent a million of money, 
with no other result than to draw down upon 
you the hatred and rancor of a powerful 
nation. It is true that Turkey owes you a 
debt of gratitude for having postponed the 
solution of the great Eastern problem ; but 
wretched Turkey would be of no use to you 
in case of war. In Lombardy you weakened 
Austria, aggrandized Victor Emmanuel, and 
favored the fusion of small, harmless States 
with a great Power. And now you have 
been clever enotigh to alienate that Power 
which owes everything to you by keeping it 
out of its capital. After having grouped a 
real nation around the small King of Sar- 
dinia, you have fo-rced that Rfegalantuomo to 
be your enemy. You have sought adventures 
in China and Mexico. The great American 
Republic was from its beginning the friend 
and ally of France. You constrained it to 
forget that it owed its existence to you. In 
the war of the Secession, when you should 
have sympathized with the cause of the 
North, you shut your ear to true principles. 
Your interests, as you understood them, led 
you to side with the South, but you had not 
the courage or the sincerity to act upon 
your opinion. You only gave to the Slavery 
party a hesitating and sterile support. The 
Union was restored in spite of you, and its 
first movement was to make you evacuate 
Mexico. In Germany you tried surreptiti- 
ously to weaken Austria by Prussia, and 
Prussia by Austria, Your diplomatists, who 
are supposed to be the pick and choice of 
human ability, warranted success. After a 
long and ruinous war the Austrians, your 
secret allies, who, you had calculated, would 
be the victors, were beaten, and the Prus 
sians, your enemies, became masters of Ger» 



THE FPvi NCO-GERMAN WAR. 



43 



«nany Pj-nssia allied liorsclf with Italy, 
and your only compensation is the alliance 
of Austria, wlio, tliiuiks to yon, is reduced to 
the last degree of impotency. Such, my 
dear French people, is the result' of your 
carapaijiiis and your negotiations. Peace 
and war have been almost equally fatal to 
you. And you may be very sure that, on 
the first opportunity, Prussia, Russia, Amer- 
ica, and Italy will be ready to combine to pay 
off old scores. This election of a King of 
Spain may be as good an excuse as any 
other. 

SAABBRUCK. 

THE ENGAGEMENT, JULY 31st, 1870. 

The engagement at Saarbruck, on Sunday, 
July 3Tst, was between a small detachment 
forming a Prussian outpost and three divis- 
ions of French infantry supporting 23 guns. 
The affair was of slight importance, and the 
loss trifling on each side. 

In spite of the apparent importance of 
maintaining railway connection at Saarbruck, 
the Prussians never seriously prepared to 
defend it, and their movements were inde- 
pendent of the Saarbruck line. Considerable 
bodies of troops entered Saarbruck at differ- 
ent times, but not as a garrison. The town 
itself is indefensible, unless the heights on the 
French side are occupied by a large force. 
In fact, those heights were only picketed by 
Prussians. 

The attack repulsed on Saturday, JulySOth, 
was a suificient warning of the French inten- 
tions, but the Prussians took no further steps, 
even when the French subsequently occupied 
the woods. 

The Emperor, on his return to Metz after 
the battle, sent the following telegraphic 
dispatch to the Empress : 

" Louis has received his baptism of fire. 
He was admirably cool, and httle impressed. 
A division of Frossard's command carried 
the heights overlooking tlie Saar. The 
Prussians made a brief resistance. Louis 
and I were in front where the bullets fell 
about us. Louis keeps a ball he picked up. 
The soldiers wept at his tranquiUity. We 
lost an officer and ten men. Napolkon." 

"Received his baptism of fire" and "the 
soldiers wept at his tranquillity," are lines too 
good to be omitted in history, and will be 
laughed at in after years as they are at this 
time. 'I'he idea of a man like Napoleon III, 
who placed himself upon the throne of France, 
first by promises of holding the freedom of 
that country at heart, and then held himself 
there by the aid of cut-throats ; and such a 
man asking God to aid him in maintaining a 
cruel war against an upright and peace-loving 
people. Tjiis was the man who, standing in 
need of a target for his soldiers, ordered them 
to fire upon some of the peasantry who were 
passing at the time, and actually killed forty 
harmless men, women and children by his 
fiendish command. 

But how pleasant it is to turn from this 
oruei monarch, and contemplate the quiet 



and noble behavior of that man wVio has 
always thought of his God and people. Let 
the impartial read King William's proclama- 
tion, and they cannot but agree that further 
praise of that noble man is uimecessary : 

" All Germany stands united against a 
neighboring State which has surprised us by- 
declaring war without justification. Tha 
safety of the Fatlierland is threatened. Our 
honor and oiu* hearths are at stake. To-day 
I assume command of the whole army. I 
advance cheerfully to a contest which in 
former times our fathers, under sirailap cir- 
cumstances, fought gloriously. The whole 
Fatherland and myself trust confidently in 
you. The Lord God will be with our righteous 
cause." 

The affair at Saarbruck was regarded as 
wholly unimportant. The Prussians at no time 
contemplated holding that town in force. 

The Emperor wished to gain possession of 
Saarbruck, because it commands the valley 
of the Saar and the railway to Treves ; and 
as the town proved of no material advantage, 
the French were allowed to take it without 
any stout resistance being made. They 
afterwards found themselves in a position 
similar to the man who won the elephant in 
a lottery — " they could not keep it." 

Following close upon this battle came the 
more important one of 

WEISSENBTIBG. 

On Friday. August .'ith. an ofiGclal account 
of this battle was received at Berlin, dated 
Thursday, 4th : 

" We have won a brilliant but bloody 
victory. The left wing was the attacking 
body, and consisted of the Fifth and Eleventh 
Prussian Corps, with the Second (Bavarian). 
This force carried by an assault, under the 
eyes of the Prince Royal, the fortress of 
Weissenburg and the heights between Weis- 
senburg and Geisburg. 

" Douay's division of Marshal MacMahon's 
corps was splendidly defeated, being driven 
from its camp. Gen. Douay himself was 
killed. Five hundred prisoners were taken. 
None of them were wounded. Many Turcos 
were among the captured. The Prussian 
Gen. Kirchback was slightly wounded. 'I'he 
Royal Grenadiers and the 50th Regiment cf 
the line suffered heavy losses." 

THE BATTLE OF WEISSENBTJRG. 

"The French infantry in action at Weie 
senburg and Geisburg belonged to the 1st 
Corps ; the cavalry to the 5th Corps. Except 
an attack undertaken to cover the retreat, 
the French stood on the defensive during the 
whole engagement. Most of the French 
troops in the engagement conducted them- 
selves with much spirit, and held tlieir ground 
ihanfully. Only after retreat had become 
inevitable did they appear as if seized by a 
sudden panic. At this crisis troops of tiie 
Corps MacMahon, which had not yet been 
under fire, threw away their caps, knapsacks, 
tents, etc., and decamped, leaving even their 



44 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



provisions behind them. The Algerian troops 
exhibited tlie same temper as the French. 
There was no perceptible difference between 
them and their European comrades. 

" The infantry, whose battalions were not 
above 800 strong, opened fire at 1500 
paces. This maltes hitting a mere matter of 
chan.ce, and has a tendency to demoralize a 
man in the use of his weapon. Our practice 
of forming company columns and outflanking 
the enemy's tirailleurs fully answered. The 
French cavalry, even if numerically equal to 
our own, invariably declined attack. Our 
artillery fired slower, but much more effect- 
ively, than the French. The mitrailleuse 
battery fired three rotmds at a distance of 
1800 paces against our artillery, but did no 
damage. It was soon silenced by our guns." 

" I am now about to relate an incident," 
writes a friend of mine, from the battle field, 
" which will make a draft even upon your 
faith. Professor; and that is. that one portion 
of our line retained all that day a position 
within about fifteen yards of the enemy's 
works. I am proud to say that T belonged 
to the brigade who so gallantly accomplished 
this feat. Ool. Yawn commanded in person, 
and the conduct of our eight hundred (for 
of that number our brigade consisted) 
deserves mention ; and we claim, with an 
excusable conceit, that it was as splendid a 
stroke of heroism as ever lit up the story of 
' The glory we call Grreece, and the grandeur 
we call Rome.' Through the live-long day 
our men held their line, within fifteen yards 
of the enemy, and all his force could not 
dislodge us. Repeatedly during the day the 
French formed double columns of attack, to 
come over the walls and assail us ; and the 
ofiSeers could be heard encouraging their 
troops by telling them • that there are only 
two or three hundred of them.' But the 
moment the Frenchmen showed themselves 
above the parapets, a line of fire was opened 
on them from ' our eight hundred,' and many 
a ' Frenchy' fell prone under our swift aveng- 
ing bullets. 

" The sequel to this bit of history is as cu- 
rious as the deed itself — for while the French 
dared not venture out to assail Col. Yawn's 
men, neither could he, nor his command, 
recede from their perilous position. He 
could not get back to us, and it seemed 
impossible for us to reach him. In this di- 
lemma the ingenious device was hit upon of 
running a ' sap,' or ziz-zag trench, up from 
our line to his. In this way a working party 
were able to dig their way up to where they 
lay, begrimed with powder, and worn down 
with fatigue. They were thus rescued from 
a situation at once disagreeable and dan- 
gerous. But Yawn, our gallant leader, he 
came not away alive. Since eleven o'clock 
in the rnornmg he had lain behind the bul- 
warks his valor defended — a corpse. There 
were other scenes along those lines drawn so 
close up to the enemy equally as grave, 
but I'll venture to say that not one of 
our eight hundred but would gladly have 



changed places with our noble leader, if in 
his dying moments he could have known that 
Colonel Yawn, the gallant and brave Yawn I 
was still among the Uving." 

Lay him down, for he is sleeping; fold his blanket o'er hi» 

breast. 
In death's cold and silent slumber, let the soldier calmly 

rest; 
Wave our banner far above him, 'twas for it he nobly died, 
And 'tis well that ye should plaut it, proudly waving by hw 

side. 

'Twas for us he left his kindi-ed, for our homes he fought 

and fell, 
And endured toils, hardships, sickness, that no one but him 

could tell; 
Now he rests, and all is over, and his spirit dwells above, 
far above the din of battle, with our country's God h» 

loved. 

And so ends my friend's letter. I know 
not whether the verses given are original 
with him, or whether he quotes at random, 
but to my idea they are very pretty, and lei 
that be my excuse for placing them before 
the kind reader. 

And now we have the 

BATTLE OF WOEETH. 

" On the .5th of August reliable intelligence 
was received at the headquarters of the 3d 
Army that Marshal MacMahon was busily 
engaged in concentrating his troops on the 
hills west of Woerth, and that he was being 
reinforced by constant arrivals by railway. 
In consequence of these advices, it was re- 
solved to lose no time in effecting a change 
of front, which had been determined upon a 
few days previously, but not yet executed. 
The 2d Bavarian and the .5th Prussian Corps 
were to remain in their respective positions 
at Lembach and Prenschdorf ; the 11th Prus- 
sian Corps was to wheel to the right and en- 
camp at Holschloch, with van pushed forward 
towards the river Sauer ; and the 1st Prussian 
Corps was to advance into the neighborhood 
of Lobsann and Lampertsloch. The cavalry 
division remained at Schonenburg, fronting 
west. The Corps Werder (Wurtemburg and 
Baden divisions) marched to Reimerswiller, 
with patrols facing the Haguenau forest. 

" 'I'he 5th Prussian Corps, on the evening 
of the 5th, pushed its van from its bivouac 
at Prenschdorf on to the height east of 
Woerth. On the other side of the Sauer, 
numerous camp fires of the enemy were visi- 
ble during the night, the French outposts 
occupyinfiT the heights west of the Sauer, 
opposite Woerth and Gunstett. At dawn of 
the 6th, skirmishes commenced along the lin» 
of the outposts, which caused the Prussian 
vanguard to send a battalion into Woerth, 
At 8 o'clock steady firing was heard on the 
right (Bavarian) flank. This and the fire the 
enemy directed against Woerth caused us to 
station the entire artillery of the 5th Prus- 
sian Corps on the heights east of this place 
and try to relieve the Bavarians. A little 
later the 5th Corps was ordered to break off 
the engagement, it being the intention oC 
our generals to begin the battle against the 
concentrated forces of the enemy only when 
the change of front had been effected and the 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



45 



entire Gennai) army was rpady io be brouojht 
into action. At 7.45 o'clock the 4th Division 
(Bothiner) of the 2d Bavarian Corps (Hart- 
mann), induced by the heavy fire of the out- 
posts near Woerth, liad left their bivouac at 
Lerabach, and, proceeding by Mattstall and 
Lans;en-Salzbach, after a sharp engagement 
penetrated as far as Neschwiller, where they 
spread, fronting to the south. At 10^ this 
Bavarian Corps, supposing the order to 
reak off the engagement which had been 
given to the 5th Prussians to extend to 
themselves, withdrew to Langen-Salzbach. 
The enemy, being thus no longer pressed on 
his left, turned all his strength with the 
greatest energy against the 5th Prussians at 
Woerth. Reinforcements were continually 
thrown in by rail. Finding the enemy in 
earnest on this point, and perceiving the 
11th Prussians to approach vigorously in the 
direction of Gunstett, the 5th Prussians im- 
mediately proceeded to the attack, so as to 
defeat the enemy if possible before he had 
time to concentrate. The 20th Brigade was 
the first to defile through Woerth, and 
marched towards Elsasshausen and Frosch- 
willer ; it was promptly followed by the 19th 
Brigade. The French stood their ground 
with the utmost pertinacity, and their fire 
was crushing. Whatever the gallantry of 
our 10th Division, it did not succeed in over- 
coming the obstinate resistance of the enemy, 
Eventually, the 9th Division being drawn 
into tlie fight, the whole 5th Corps found 
itself involved in the sanguinary conflict 
raging along the heights west of Woerth. 

"At 1^ P. M., orders were given to the 1st 
Bavarian Corps (Von der Tann) to leave one 
of its two divisions where it stood, and, send- 
ing on the other as quick as possible by Lob- 
sann and Lampertsloch, seize upon the 
enemy's front in the gap between the 2d 
Bavarian Corps at Langen-Salzbach and the 
5th Prussian Corps at Woerth. The 11th 
Prussians were ordered to advance to El- 
sasshausen, skirt the forest of Niederwald, 
and operate against Froschwiller. The 
Wurtemburg Division was to proceed to 
Gunstett, and follow the 11th Prussians 
across the Sauer ; the Baden Division was to 
remain at Sauerburg. 

"At 2 o'clock the combat had extended 
along the entire line. It was a severe strug- 
gle. 'I'he 5th Prussians fought at Woerth, 
he 11th Prussians near Elsasshausen. In 
js strong position on and near the heights 
f Froschwiller. the enemy off"ered us a most 
ntense resistance. The 1st Bavarian Corps 
reached Gorsdorff, but could not lay hold of 
the enemy fast enough ; the 2d Bavarian had 
to exchange the exhausted troops of the Di- 
vision Bothraer, who had spent their ammu- 
nition in the fierce fights of the morning, for 
the Division Walther. While the Division 
Bothmer fell back, the Brigade Scleich of the 
Division Walther marched upon Langen- 
Salzbaeh. The Wurtemburg Division ap- 
proached Gunstett. 
"At 2 o'clock fresh orders were given. 



The Wurtemburg Division was to turn 
towards Reichshofen by way of Ebersbach, 
to threaten the enemy's line of retreat. The 
1st Bavarian was to attack at once and dis- 
lodge the enemy from his position at Frosch- 
willer and in the neighboring vineyards. 
Between 2 and 3 o'clock the enemy, bringing 
fresh troops into the field, and advancing 
with consummate bravery, assumed the of- 
fensive against the 5th and 11th Prussian 
Corps. But all his assaults were beaten oflf. 
Thus the fight was briskly going on at 
Woerth, neither party making much pro- 
gress, till at length the brilliant attack of 
the 1st Bavarian Corps at Gorsdorff, and of 
the 1st Wurtemburg Brigade on the ex- 
treme left at Ebersbach, decided the fate of 
the day. 

" Towards the close of the battle the 
French attempted a grand cavalry charge 
against the 5th and 11th Corps, especially 
against the artillery of these troops. Our 
artillery awaited them in a stationery posi. 
tion, and repulsed them with severe loss. 
'Ilie infantry did so likewise. This last ex- 
periment having failed, the enemy, at 4 
o'clock, evacuated Froschwiller, and re- 
treated through the mountain passes in the 
direction of Bitche. The cavalry of all our 
divisions were despatched in pursuit. 

" The cavalry division which, on accoxint 
of the difficult ground, which allowed little 
scope for its manoeuvres, had been left at 
Schonberg, was ordered, at 3^ o'clock to 
advance to Gunstett. On the morning of the 
7th this cavalry corps began the pursuit in 
the direction of Ingweiler and Broustweiler. 
All the troops who had taken part in the en- 
gagement bivouacked on the battle-field, the 
cavalry at Gunstett, the Baden Division at 
Sauerburg. 

"Our losses are great. The enemy lost 
5,000 unwounded prisoners, thirty giuis, six 
mitrailleuses, and two eagles. The enemy's 
troops arrayed against us were General Mac- 
Mahon's army, and the 2d and 3d Divisions 
of the 6th Corps." 

SAAKBRTTCK BETAKEN. 

The, town of Saarbruck was retaken by the 
First Prussian Array Corps, under command 
of General Steinmetz, on the afternoon of 
August 6th, 1870. 

THE PRUSSIAN PIONEERS. 

HOW THEIR RECONNOITRING PARTIES ARE COMPOSED. 

The French attribute their want of success 
to the splendid manner in which the Prus- 
sians reconnoitre with the uhlans, and the 
completeness of their spy system, which 
keeps them perfectly acquainted with every 
Btir made by their antagonists. 

On the subject of the Prussian eclaireurs, 
I append the following well-written account 
of the manner in which they go to work. The 
writer begins by saying : 

The qualities inherent in French nature 
are impetuosity, dash, and courage, but the"*! 



THE FIIANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



characteristics, which Europe does not hesi- 
tate to proclaim, often carry in their wake a 
certain inattention. The qualities, on the 
other hand, peculiar to the German character, 
are reflection, prudence, and method. These 
sometimes produce slowness of attack, but 
they leave nothing to chance. From this 
aggregate of qualities and defects it results 
that the Prussian army is admirably well 
informed, and the French are scarcely so at 
all. Was anything known of the enormous 
forces which Prince Frederick Charles and 
the Crown Prince had accumulated on the 
Saar, and who bore down the two corps of 
General Frossard and Marshal MacMahon? 
The Prussians understand and practice using 
scouts in a campaign. The general who is 
confronted by a corps which he is to watch 
and fight chooses a clever and determined 
oflBcer. A small troop is confided to him of 
from fifteen to twenty select horsemen, uhlans, 
or hussars. The officer, in his turn, takes into 
the band some soldiers of the landwehr, both 
upon the very frontier of the country which 
he is to reconnoitre, and which his business, 
his relations, and his habits allured him to 
visit in every sense. This man, who has a 
mission of confidence and honor, advances to 
the front, musket in hand, eye watchful, and 
ear attentive. He has been told what point 
is to be reached, which spot is marked in 
pencil on an excellent map, which the officer 
carries about him. The place which is to be 
reconnoitred is often twenty to thirty kilo- 
metres distant from the Prussian lines, in the 
very centre of the enemy's territory. Behind 
the first horseman, who has orders to advance 
very slowly, following hollows, dells, and 
sometimes the highway, sometimes also push- 
ing forward across the fields, two other riders 
come at two hundred paces off. Further 
away, at the same distance from them, comes 
the officer, followed by eight or ten horse- 
men, charged to protect him, if necessary. 
Two other riders are further away, whom a 
last soldier is following at two hundred paces. 
This column, moving on silently, occupies 
the space of a kilometre. If the horseman 
who leads is surprised, a shot gives alarm to 
the rest of the band, and the riders ahead and 
behind have orders to depart at full gallop, 
and to follow any direction that is safest. The 
officer alone and his escort go on ahead to 
reconnoitre with whom they have to do, and 
to see what is passing, after which they all 
leave at full speed. Even in case of ambush, 
it is almost impossible that two or three 
riders should not be able to return safely to 
headquarters', and the Prussians then know 
at once what force they have before them, 
and on what point it is posted. 

King William sent the following dispatch 
to the Queen : 

" Good news. A great victory has been 
won by our Fritz. God be praised for his 
mercy. We captured 4,000 prisoners, thirty 
guns, two standards, and six mitrailleuses. 
MacMahon, during the fight, was heavily re- 
enforced from the main army. The contest 



was very severe, and lasted from eleven 'n 
the morning until nine at night, when tho 
French retreated, leaving the field to us. 
Our losses were heavy." 

On Saturday, August 6, the French were 
turned back on their entire line, and com- 
menced to retreat toward the interior of 
France. The French had commenced an 
advance from Saarbruck, which they had held 
since the famous battle of three divisions 
against three companies of Prussians, bat 
having to fall back they burned that rich and 
unprotected town, and in withdrawing spread 
conflagration by throwing hot shot into it. > 

The heads of the Prussian columns ap- 
proached the Saar on the .'ith. Gen. Kamera 
found the enemy to the west of Saarbruck in 
strong position in the mountains near Spieh- 
ren, and immediately attacked him. Follow- 
ing the sound of the cannon portions of the 
divisions of Barnakow and Stupnagel came 
up. Gen. Geeben took command, and after 
a very severe fight, the position occupied by 
Gen. Frossard was taken by assault. Gen. 
Francois and Col. Renter are among the 
wounded. Gen. Francois died the next day. 

After the battle of Saarbruck, a Westpha- 
lian, going about to help the wounded, came 
upon a soldier of the Prussian infantry, who 
had been shot through the body, and was 
leaning heavily against a wall. " Will yoU' 
drink, comrade?" asked the Westphalian. 
Pale and faint, the poor fellow shook his 
head, and feebly indicated that he would like 
his lips to be moistened. When this had 
been done, he asked in a whisper whether the 
Westphalian could write. The latter at once 
took out his pocket-book, when the dying 
man, "with brightening eye," dictated the 
words, " Dear mother, farewell," adding the 
address. At this moment the Westphalian- 
was called by a second wounded man. When 
he returned lie found that his first friend had 
fallen back and died. 

An extract from another letter, which I 
received lately : — (Ed.) 

"The glory of war has a different aspect 
when we view it in the dim light of a hospi- 
tal ward, with hundreds of our fellow-crea- 
tures with bleeding and shattered limbs 
about us, and the winged Victory should be 
painted with crimson wings — wings dyed red 
with human gore. The loss of blood from 
some of the patients was simply enormou$!, 
and the six miles' journey from the field of 
battle must have been very trying to the 
poor fellows, who bore their pain with won- 
derful fortitude and patience, the less seri- 
ously wounded assisting in undressing, and 
in otherwise helping their more unfortunate 
brethren. Occasionally you hear a cry of 
' Mon Dieu 1 Mon Dieu 1' and one poor 
fellow, with a ball right through his lungs, 
is gurgling out an anguished gasp for the 
absent doctor. Poor fellow 1 I fear the only 
doctor who can do him any good is that 
grand curer of all evils. Dr. Death. 

" We turn to the right and are soon on 
the crown of the hill, and here, God 1 what 







^ 




THE PRANCO-CJFERMAN WAR. 



49 



'E 8ickenin{? sight awaits iis. There, in front, 
is a clean even line of dead Frenchmen, three 
deep, laid out with military regularity. As 
th^y stood in line so they fell, almost all 
shot through the head. Most of them have 
fallen forward on their faces, their arras ex- 
tended, some with their fingers on the trigger 
they never had time to pull. Some few have 
reeled backwards, and there is a smashed 
and battered face turned towards heaven. 

" There is another there whose face is half 
shot away. Surely it must be fancy — but 
no, it moves, and then it flashes to our mind 
that there may still be some living here, and 
■we have a duty to do in which a neutral may 
engage, and we go up to him. Yes, poor 
fellow, he still lives, though it would almost, 
it seems, be the greater mercy to end that 
life of pain at once than attempt to save the 
battered remains of life he, should he live, 
■will have to carry about with him. But as 
he lives something must be done. The ques- 
tion is, what ? Not a French soldier is near, 
not a French doctor, not one of that multi- 
tudinous and polyglot assemblage who sport 
their white Drassards' with so much com- 
placency in Metz. There is no help for it 
but to go right up to the Prussians there, 
and ask in (iod's name for their help for a 
■wounded enemy. This is done, and with 
truest noble-heartedness a party of their own 
men and a cart are sent off with us for any 
wounded men we may find. Here and there 
we pick up another still breathing- soldier, and 
consign him to the kindly hands of those 
■who a few hours ago were just as anxious to 
kill him as they are willing now to save. 
'J'his is the scene of the hottest part of the 
fight, and the dead lie thickly around. 
Scarcely, however, do we see a Prussian. 
They have already removed them, and their 
•u'ounded have been cared for some hours 
ago. 

"There lies a Chasseur de Vincennes. 
Surely he must be living, his color is so good; 
■nor can he be deeply wounded. Why. then, 
is he so still ? Hearing French voices near 
him he looks up, pretending to awake out 
of sleep. For about sixteen hours he has 
lain there in mortal funk — no other word 
will do — and the wretched coward appeals to 
Tis to deliver hira from the hands of the 
Prussians. I am sorely tempted to call them 
up and give the wretched animal into their 
custody; but then they would have to keep 
hira. and he certainly is not worth his keep, 
so the counsels of ray French friend prevail, 
and we pick the creature up. He is so stiff 
from his seeming death that he can scarcely 
stand. We call a couple of peasants, and he 
leans on them as though seriously wounded ; 
and thus we lead him away. 

*' A well-to-do-looking farmer stops us and 
tells us there are some wounded up by the 
wood yonder ; so across the fields we go. and 
here we find a heap of dead, and amongst 
them three poor soldiers, who have lain there 
since about 3 o'clock yesterday, unable to 
move, without a particle of food, or, above 



all, without a drop of water. One of us goes 
back to Borny to seek some help, whilst tho 
other stays and tries to give some relief to 
the cramped and stiffened limbs, or at any 
rate a few kindly words of hope and encour- 
agement. An hour's waiting brings a long 
country cart, with plenty of straw in it, and 
we lifted the poor fellows into the shaky 
vehicle, and jolt them over the fields as 
gently as possible, yet still with horrible 
agony to their crushed and bleeding limbs. 
At last we reach the road, and progress is 
somewhat easier, passing on our way we 
see another poor fellow whom it would be 
dangerous to lift into such a cart as ours. 
He needs those beautiful stretchers which 
are so scientifically constructed, but which 
are all where the doctors are, in Metz. doing 
nothing. Nor can we do anything for him 
now, poor fellow. He would probably die 
on the road, and meanwhile would cause an» 
increased agony to those we are already 
transporting. All we can do is to build a 
bower of branches to keep off the blazing sun, 
and send word when we get to Metz to hava 
him brougiit in if he should live that long." 

THE BATTLE OF FOEBACH. 

The official account of the action at Forbach 
is as follows : 

" On the forenoon of August 6, the 7th 
Corps d' Armee pushed its vanguard to 
Herchenbach, 1^ German miles northwest 
of Saarbruck, with outposts stretching as far 
as the river Saar. The preceding night the 
enemy had evacuated its position on tho 
drilling-ground of Saarbruck. 

"Toward noon the Cavalry Division under 
General Rheinhaben passed through the towa, 
Two squadrons formed the van. The moment 
they reached the highest point of the drilling- 
ground, and became visible to spectators on 
the south, they were fired at from the hills 
near Spicheren. 

" The drilling-ground ridge overhangs a 
deep valley stretching towards Forbach and 
Spicheren, and bordered on the other side by 
the steep and partly wooded heijiht named 
after the latter village. These hillt*, rising in 
almost perpendicular ascent several hundred 
feet above the valley, form a natural fortress, 
which needed no addition from art to be all 
but impregnable. Like so many bastions, 
the mountains project into the valley, facing 
it on all sides, and affording the strongest 
imaginable position for defence. French 
officers who were taken prisoners on this s|)ot 
confess to having smiled at the idea of the 
Prussians attacking them in this stronghold. 
There was not a man in the '2d French Corps 
who was not persuaded in his own mind that 
to attempt the Spicheren hills must lead to 
the utter annihilation of the besiegers. 

" Between 12 and 1 the 14th Division 
arrived at Saarbruck. Immediately proceed- 
ing south, it encountered a strong force of 
the enemy in the valley between Saarbruck 
and Spicheren. and opened fire forthwith. 
Upon this General Frossard, who was in the 



60 



THE FRANOO-CfERMAN WAR, 



act of -withdrawing a portion of his troops 
■when the Prussians arrived, turned round 
and reoccupied the Spicheren hills with his 
entire force. A division of the 3d Corps, 
i;nder General Bazaine, came up in time to 
support him. 

" The 14th Division at first had to deal 
■with far superior numbers. To limit the 
attack to the enemy's front would have been 
useless. General von Kamecke, therefore, 
while engaging the front, also attempted to 
turn the left flank of the enemy by Stiring ; 
but the five battalions he could spare for this 
operation were too weak to make an impres- 
sion upon the much stronger numbers of the 
French. Two successive attacks on his left 
were repulsed by General Frossard. Toward 
3 o'clock, when all the troops of the division 
were under fire, the engagement assumed a 
very sharp and serious aspect. 

'' Eventually, however, the roar of the 
cannon attracted several other Prussian 
detachments. The division under General 
von Barkenow was the first to be drawn to 
the spot. Two of its batteries came dashing 
up at full speed to relieve their struggling 
comrades. They were promptly followed by 
the 40th Infantry, under Colonel Rex, and 
three squadrons of the 9th Hussars. At this 
moment the vanguard of the .5th Division 
was espied on the Winterberg Hill. General 
Stulpnagel, whose van had been stationed at 
Sultibach the same morning, had been 
ordered by General von Alvensleben to 
inarch his entire division in the direction 
from which the sound of cannon proceeded. 
Two batteries advanced in a forced march on 
the high road. The infantry were partly 
sent by rail from Nuenkirchen to Saarbruck. 

" At about 3.30 o'clock the Division Kam- 
ecke had been sufficientl y reinforced to enable 
General von Goeben, who had arrived in the 
xneantime and assumed the command, to 
make a vigorous onslaught on the enemy's 
front. The chief aim of the attack was the 
wooded portion of the declivity. The 40th 
Infantry, supported on its right by troops of 
the I4th Division, and on its left by four 
battalions of the 5th Division, made the 
assault. A reserve was formed of some 
battalions of the 5th and 16th Divisions, as 
they came up. 

" The charge was a success. The wood was 
occupied, the enemy expelled. Penetrating 
further, always on the ascent, the troops 
pushed the French before them as far as the 
southern outskirts of the wood. Here the 
French made a stand, and, combining the 
three arms of the service for a united attack, 
endeavored to retrieve the day. But our 
infantry were not to be shaken. At this 
juncture the artillery of the 5th Division 
accomplished a rare and most daring feat. 
Two batteries literally clambered up the hill 
of Spicheren by a narrow and precipitous 
anountain path. With their help a fresh 
iittack of the enemy was repulsed. A flank 
attack directed against our left from AisUn- 
gea and Spicheren was warded ofiF in time 



by battalions of the 5th Division stationed in 
reserve. 

" '{'he fighting, which for hours had been 
conducted with the utmost obstinacy on both 
sides, now reached its climax. Once more 
the enemy, superior still in numbers, rallied 
his entire forces for a grand and impetuous 
charge. It was his third attack after we had 
occupied the wood. But, like the precediiig 
ones, this last effort was shortened by the 
imperturbable calmness of our infantry and 
artillery. Like waves dashing and breaking 
against a rock, the enemy's battalions were 
scattered by our gallant troops. After this 
last failure the enemy beat a rapid retreat ; 
fifty-two French battalions, with the artil- 
lery of an entire corps, stationed in an al- 
most unassailable position, had thus been 
defeated by twenty-seven Prussian battal- 
ions, supported by but the artillery of one 
division. It was a brilliant victory, indeed. 
We had everything against us — numbers, 
guns, and the nature of the locality ; yet we 
prevailed. 

" Darkness fast setting in afi'orded its valu- 
able aid to the enemy in e0"ecting his re- 
treat. To cover this backward movement, 
the French artillery were stationed on the 
hills skirting the battle-field on the south, 
where they kept up a continuous but harm- 
less fire for a considerable time. 

" The ground was too difiBcult for the cav- 
alry to take any part in the action. Never- 
theless, the fruits of the victory were very 
remarkable. The corps under General Fros- 
sard, being entirely demoralized, dispersed. 
The road it took in its hasty flight was 
marked by numerous wagons with pro- 
visions and clothing ; the woods were filled 
with hosts of stragglers, wandering about in 
a purposeless way, and large stores and 
quantities of goods of every description fell 
into our hands. 

" While the battle was raging at Spicheren 
Hill, the 13th Division crossed the Saar at 
Werden, occupied Forbach, seized vast mag- 
azines of food and clothing, and thus forced 
General Frossard, whose retreat was covered 
by two divisions of General Bazaine, which 
had come up for the purpose, to withdraw 
to the southwest and leave free the road to 
St. Avoid. 

"The losses were very serious on both 
sides. The 5th Division alone has 230 dead, 
and about 1,800 wounded. The I'ith Infan- 
try has 32 ofiQcers and 800 men dead or 
wounded; next to this the 40th, 8th, 48th, 
39th, and 74th have suffered most. The bat- 
teries, too, have encountered terrible loss. 
The number of killed and wounded on the 
enemy's side was at least equal to our own. 
The unwounded prisoners in our hands al- 
ready exceed 2,000, and were increasing 
hourly. We have also captured forty pon- 
toons, and the tents of the camp." 

THE BATTLES ABOUND METZ. 

Meanwhile the valley of the Moselle had 
become the scene of stirring events. The 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



51 



Prussian ri^lit. as already stated, liad followed 
the retroatini;: French under Frossard after 
the battle of Forbacli until they were close 
npon the Moselle, in which threatening 
position they awaited tlie arrival of the 
Prussian centre, under Prince Frederick 
Charles. 'I'he latter, strikinsr the Moselle 
near Pont-a-Mousson, crossed that stream on 
Sunday, August 14, with the object of turn- 
ing the French right, and cutting off com- 
munications with MacMahon, who had, as 
already stated, abandoned Nancy on the 13th 
and hastened westward towards Chalons, 
closely followed by the Prussian left under 
the Crown Prince. 

The abandonment of the line of the Moselle 
was the first thing determined ixpon by Ba- 
zaine after his increased authority under the 
Palikao administration. On Sunday. August 
14, he began the movement of his army 
across the ^loselle, in the immediate vicinity 
of Metz, where he had collected it on the 
12th. Before he had accomplished his 
purpose, however, the 1st and 7th Prussian 
Corps of General von Steinmetz's command 
fell upon his rear, and a serious engagement 
ensued, at the end of which the entire French 
army had succeeded in effecting the passage 
of the stream. But, while the Prussians 
Buffered a loss quite out of proportion to that 
inflicted on the French, the westward move- 
ment of the latter was materially delayed, 
and the first object of the Prussians practi- 
cally accomplished. 

On Monday, the 15th, the army of General 
von Steinmetz having crossed the Moselle, 
the hostile forces were engaged principally 
in manoeuvring for position; but there 
appears to have been two distinct and deter- 
mined engagements, and on the following 
day, the 16ih, there was a protracted and 
bloody contest. The fighting was continued 
on the 17th, and the struggle for the posses- 
sion of the roads from Metz to Verdun 
culminated on the 18th, in the great battle 
of Gravelotte. By thi.s time the original 
positions of the hostile armies were reversed, 
the Prussians facing east and the French 
west. The final struggle lasted from 10 
o'clock in the morning until 9 in the evening. 
It was the battle of Sadowa, fought over 
again. At the opening, the junction between 
Prince Frederick Charles and General von 
Steinmetz had not been effected. The French 
were between two fires, but that of \'on 
Steinmetz did not become effective until 
evening, when he swept down from the north- 
east, and, turning the right flank of the 
enemy, decided the fortunes of the field. 
Bazaine was thrown back on Metz, his com- 
munications with Paris were cut off, and the 
Crown Prince was left at liberty to pursue 
his advance towards the capital, without the 
danger of encountering any opposition other 
than could be presented by MacMahon's 
demoralized force and the new levies that 
were being gathered at Chalons. 



THE BATTLE OF GKAVELOTTE. 

One of the most important battles of the 
war in France was that which took place 
near Metz, on Thursday, the 18th of August, 
between the forces under command of' Mar- 
shal Bazaine and the armies of the Prince 
Royal of Prussia and General Steinmetz, the 
result of which was the penning up of the 
French within the fortifications of that 
stronghold. From the hill the entire sweep 
of the Prussian and French centre could be 
seen, and a considerable part of their wings, 
and where, at the time, were the headquarters 
of the King. The great representative men 
of Prussia, soldiers and statesmen, were 
standing on the ground watching the conflict 
just begun. Among them were the King, 
Bismarck, General von Moltke, Prince Fred- 
erick Charles, Prince Carl, Prince Adalbert, 
and Adjutant Kranski. Lieutenant-General 
Sheridan, of the United States army, was 
also present. At the moment the French 
were making a most desperate effort to hold 
on to the last bit of the Verdun road — that 
between Rezonville and Gravelotte, or that 
part of Gravelotte which in some maps is 
called St. Marcel. The striiggle was desperate 
but unavailing, for every one man in the 
French army had two to cope witli, and their 
line was already beginning to waver. Soon 
it was plain that this wing, the French right, 
was withdrawing to a new position. 'I'his 
was swiftly taken up under cover of a con- 
tinuous fire of their artillery from the heights 
beyond the village. The movement was 
made in good order, and the position, which 
was reached at one o'clock and thirty minutes, 
would have been pronounced impregnable by 
nine out of ten military men. When once 
this movement had been effected, the French 
retreatuig from the pressure of the Prussian 
artillery fire, and the Prussians as rapidly 
advancing, the battle-field was no longer 
about Rezonville, but had been transferred 
and pushed forward to Gravelotte, the junc- 
tion of the two branching roads to Verdun. 
The fields in front of that village were com- 
pletely covered by the Prussian reserves, and 
interminable lines of soldiers were steadily 
marching onward, disappearing into the 
village, and emerging on the other side of it 
with flaming volleys, 

This second battle-field was less extensive 
than the first, and broitght the opposing 
forces into fearfully close quarters. The pe- 
culiarity of it is that it consists of two heights 
intersected by a deep ravine. This woody 
ravine is over 100 feet deep, and at the top 
some 300 yards wide. The side of the clasm 
next to Gravelotte, where the Prussians 
stood, is much lower than the other side^ 
which gradually ascends to a great height. 
From their commanding eminence the French 
held their enemies fairly beneath them, and 
ponrfd uporj ihem scorching tire. Th' 
Freuct-i stood their ground and died — th 
Prussians stood their ground and died — botl 
by hundreds, 1 had almost said thousandt 



52 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



This, for an hour or two that seemed ages, 
so constant was the slaughter. The hill 
where I stood commanded chiefly the con- 
flict behind the village and to the south of it. 
The Prussian reinforcements, coming up on 
their right, filed out of the Bois des Ognons ; 
and it was at that point, as they marched on 
to the field, that one could perhaps get the 
best idea of the magnitude of this invading 
army now in the heart of France. There was 
no break whatever for four hours in the 
march of men out of that wood. Birnam 
Wood advancing to Dunsinane Hill was not 
a more ominous sight to Macbeth than these 
men of General Goeben's army to Bazaine, 
shielded as they were by the woods till they 
were fairly within range and reach of their en- 
emy's guns. So the French must have felt; for 
between 4 and 5 o'clock they concentrated 
opon tha,t spot their heaviest fire, massing all 
available guns, and shelling the woods unre- 
mittingly. Their fire reached the Prussian 
lines and tore through them ; and, thougtj the 
men were steady, it was a test to which no 
General cares to subject his troops long. 
Once out from imder the trees the Prussians 
advanced at double-quick, '^i'he French guns 
had not lost the range of the wood, nor of 
the ground in front. Seen at a distance, 
through a powerftil glass, the brigade was a 
huge serpent bending with the undulation 
of the field. But it left a dark track behind 
it, and the glass resolved the dark track into 
fulling and dying and dead men. Many of 
those who had fallen leaped up again and 
ran forward a little way, striving still to go 
on with their comrades. Of those who went 
backward instead of forward there were few, 
though many fell as they painfully endeav- 
ored to follow the advance. 

Now and then the thick cloud which hung 
over the battle-field would open a little and 
drift away on the wind, and then the French 
could be seen, sorely tried. To get a better 
view of this part of the field, the correspon- 
dent went forward about half a mile, and 
from this new stand-point found himself not 
far from Malmaison. The French line on 
the hills was still unbroken, and, to all ap- 
pearances, they were having the best of the 
battle. . But this appearance was due, per- 
haps, to the fact that the French were more 
clearly visible on their broad height, and 
fighting with such singular obstinacy. They 
plainly silenced a Prussian battery now and 
then. But the Prussian line also was strength- 
ened by degrees on this northern point. In- 
fantry and artillery were brought up ; and 
from far in the rear — away, seemingly, in 
the direction of Verneville — shot and shell 
began reaching the French ranks. These 
were the men and these were the guns of 
Steinmetz, who there and then efiected his 
junction with the army of Prince Frederick 
Charles, and completed the investment of 
Metz to the northwest. 

Steinmetz was able to extend his line 
gradually further and further, until the 
French were outflanked and began to be 



threatened, as it appeared, with an attack on 
the rear of their extreme right wing. So 
lon^ as the smoke from the Prussian guns 
hovered only over their front, the French 
clung to their position. The distance from 
headquarters to where the Prussian flank 
attack stretched forward was great ; and, to 
add to the difficulty of clearly seeing the 
battle, the darkness was coming on. The 
puff's of smoke from the French guns mingled 
with the flashes, brightening as the darkness 
increased, receded gradually. The pillars of 
cloud and flame from the north as gradually 
and steadily approached. With that ad- 
vance the French fire every moment grew 
more slack. It was not far from nine o'clock 
when the ground was yielded finally on the 
north, and the last shots fired on that ter- 
rible evening were heard in that direction. 

So the battle raged with fluctuating suc- 
cess, until about half-past eight or nine in 
the evening, when the decisive blow was 
struck. When the battle of Gravel otte had 
actually ended, it was known that the Prus- 
sians held the strong heights beyond the 
Bois de Vaux, which command the surround- 
ing country to the limits of artillery range 
from Metz ; that two great Prussian armies 
lay across the only road by which Bazaine 
could march to Paris for its relief, or for his 
own escape ; that a victory greater than that 
of Sunday, and more decisive than the tri- 
umph of Tuesday, had been won ; and that, 
m all probability, the French army, which 
had fought as valiantly and as vainly as 
before, was now hopelessly shut up in the 
fortress. 

PARIS IN PEHIL. 

From first to last the engagements around 
Metz were claimed by the French as victo- 
ries, but the only foundation for this claim 
consisted in the alleged fact that the Prus- 
sians lost the greater number of men in 
killed and wounded, the truth of which it is 
impossible, even at this late day, to ascer- 
tain. The attempt of Bazaine to transfer 
his army from the neighborhood of Metz, 
however, was certainly foiled ; and while a 
portion of the united armies of Prince Fred- 
erick Charles and General von Steinmetz 
was detached to watch the French, the re- 
mainder were pushed forward towards the 
still advancing army of the Crown Prince. 

By the time that General Trochu assumed 
command of Paris, the capital was fairly per- 
suaded that a siege was inevitable, and every 
nerve was strained to prepare a determined 
and desperate reception for the enemy, in 
case they should advance to the gates of the 
capital. As already stated, this contingency 
appeared imminent, for parties of Prussian 
cavalry approached to within forty or fifty- 
miles of Paris, and at one time the eastern 
terminus of the railroad to Chalons and 
Rheims was fixed at Chateau-Thierry, but 
45 miles from the capital and only half the 
distance to Chalons. General Trochu as- 
sumed the command of Paris in a proclama- 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 



53 



tion issued on August 18th, and the prepara- 
tions for defence were steadily pressed for- 
ward. Laborers by the thousands swarmed 
upon the fortifications ; 3000 cannon, accord- 
mg to the French reports, were mounted 
upon the walls and exterior forts, manned 
by 15.000 well-trained cannoniers, taken for 
the most part from tlie navy ; a motley army 
of 200,000 men, in which the regular element 
numbered scarcely 20,000, was assembled in 
and around the city ; portions of the Bois de 
Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes were de- 
stroyed, to give the artillery an unimpeded 
command of the approaches, a large number 
of houses in proximity to the fortifications 
being demolished for the same purpose ; im- 
mense quantities of provisions were stored 
in the city, and hordes of beeves, sheep and 
swine collected ; the country in front of the 
advancing Prussians was ordered to be laid 
waste, and the bridges over the streams to 
be destroyed on their approach. 

The general management of these prepara- 
tions was entrusted to a Committee of De- 
fence, on which were General Trochu, Mar- 
shal. Vaillana, Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, 
Minister Jerome David. On the 23d oC Au- 
gust, the members of the party of the Left 
demanded that nine deputies be adcled to this 
committee. The Ministry at first resisted 
this demand, but on the 26th Count Napo- 
leon Daru, who had preceded the Duke de 
Graraont as Minister of Foreign Affairs 
imder M. Ollivier, and two Senators were 
added, and on the 27th it was still further 
strengthened by the name of the veteran 
Orleanist M. Thiers, to the general satisfac- 
tion of people of all parties. 

JSIacMAHON'S EFFORT TO RESCUE BAZAINE. 

Paris being thus occupied in preparations 
to take care of herself, MacMahon halted in 
his retreat at Chalons, and made a venture 
from that point towards Meziferes, with the 
intention of effecting a junction with Bazaine. 
The camp at Chalons was broken up on the 
22d of August, and burned on the 2.5th, a 
portion of the new levies departing for the 
front with MacMahon, while the Garde Mo- 
bile of Paris, in which signs of insubordina- 
tion were manifest, were marched back to the 
capital immediately afier the departure of 
Trochu. The army of MacMahon had been 
fipread out in front of Chalons and Rheims 
for some days, but was finally concentrated 
in a general movement towards the northeast, 
the headquarters reaching Rethel, midway 
between Rheims and Meziferes, on August 2.5. 

While these movements were under way 
to the west of the Meuse, Bazaine himself 
was repeatedly reported as having broken 
through the Prussian lines around Metz, and 
succeeded in reopenino^ his communications 
with MacMahon and Paris. A small portion 
of Ills army, which had been cut off from the 
main body during the prolonged series of en- 
gage*nents around IN'letz, apparently suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing this object, but the 



escaping force was an inconsiderable one, if 
it had any existence at all, and Bazaine re- 
mained shut up under the guns of Metz until 
the final blow fell upon MacMahon at Sedan. 
From the morning of August 3l6t until noon 
on the following day, Bazaine appears to 
have made a last desperate attempt at pierc- 
ing the Prussian lines, but a portion of 
Prince Frederick Charles' army, under Gen. 
Yon Manteuffel, successfully resisted the at- 
tempt, and he was again hurled back upon 
the fortress of Metz, the engagement, which 
was severe as well as protracted, being styled 
the battle of Noiseville. 

The French army has been out-generalled 
and out-fought. At the beginning of the 
campaign all the conditions were in the Em- 
peror's favor; but Von Moltke beat him in 
manoeuvring as Von Steinmetz beat Fros- 
sard, and the Crown Prince decidedly beat 
MacMahon. The strategy of the Prussian 
left was indeed in beautiful contrast with all 
the French movements up to this time. In 
actual conflictthe superiority of the Prussians 
seems to have been equally marked. 'I'here 
have been fair standup fights and headlong 
charges, and the Germans have shown, in 
addition to their characteristic steadiness 
and obstinacy, all that 4lan which is sup- 
posed to be the distinguishing merit of the 
French. 

I shall not wonder if European armies 
learn the same truth which was so clearly 
shown in our war of the Rebellion, that 
young men are the best generals. The Crown 
Pi'ince of Prussia, who has the chief glory 
of the defeat of the French army, is not yet 
thirty-nine years old, and before he was 
thirty-five he had made himself a great name 
at Sadowa. Prince Frederick Charles, the 
King's nephew, who commands the Prussian 
right, and is esteemed the ablest of all King 
William's generals, is forty-two years old. 
Most of the fighting at Sadowa was done by 
his army. Nearly all the French leaders are 
old men. 

THE DOWNFALL OF CLLIVIER. 

All Germany was thrown into a blaze of 
enthusiasm by these startling victories, and 
all France was overwhelmed with dismay. 
The news of the disasters reached Paris on 
the 7th, and that turbulent city was seized 
with a paroxysm of rage and defiance. The 
first and foremost object of condemnatiou 
was the Ministry, through whose incompe- 
tency the people believed disaster had fallen 
upon the army. The Corps L^gislatif was 
culled together on the 9th, and a terrible 
scene was enacted on the opening of the ses- 
sion. A^ast multitudes of people surrounded 
the hall wherein the Deputies assembled, 
which was protected by a large force of regu- 
lar troops under Marshal Baraguay d'Hil- 
liers, the couniiander of Paris. 'I'liese troops 
were greeted with derisive shouts of "To the 
frontier !" and a serious encounter between 
them and the people was barely averted. 



54 



TliE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



But th-e passions of the populace were soon 
gratified by the result of the proceedin.o-s 
within the hall. When M. Ollivier ascended 
the tribune and announced that the deputies 
had been called together before the situation 
of the country was compromised. M. Jules 
Favre cried out, " Descend from the tribune ; 
this is shameful !" Protestations of ability 
on the part of the Ministry to save the coun- 
try were unavailinf?. M. Favre demanded 
that t?ie Chamber should at once assume the 
manarrement of affairs through an executive 
committee of fifteen members, a proposition 
which the president, M. Schneider, refused 
to entertain, because of its revolutionary and" 
unconstitutional character. A terrible scene 
of disorder ensued in which there were sev- 
eral personal conflicts. Finally M. Ollivier 
made a stand by resisting the demand for the 
order of the day, but it was carried in his 
face, and after a short recess he announced 
the resignation of the Ministry, and the 
selection by the Empress Regent of the 
Count de Palikao as the head of the new 
Cabinet. 

The new Premier selected for himself the 
portfolio of War, and on the following day 
announced as the names of his colleagues the 
Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne, Foreign Af- 
fairs; Henri Chevreau, Interior; Admiral 
Regault de Genouilly, (the old incumbent, 
and the only member of the Ollivier Ministry 
retained,) Marine ; Pierre Magne, Finance; 
Jerome David, Public Works ; Jules Brarae, 
Public Instruction ; M. Grand-Perret, Jus- 
iice; Clement Duvernois, Agriculture and 
Doramerce ; and M. Busson-Biliault, Presi- 
i!ent of the Council of State. The new Min- 
istry, without exception, belonged to the ex- 
ireme Bonapartist party, the partjr which had 
been overthrown to make way for the so- 
called "responsible" Ministry, at the head 
ef which Ollivier had been placed. But from 
the outset they seemed to possess the confi- 
dence of the people, and they went to work 
with a will to repair the shattered fortunes 
of France. M. Magne, who had frequently 
been at the head of the Department of Fi- 
nance before, and had been the instrument 
through which Napoleon had negotiated 
nearly all the loans of his reign, introduced 
and carried a measure for a new war loan of 
2,500.000,000 francs, and Imperialists and 
Republicans vied with each other in advocat- 
ing measures for the placing of every able- 
Iwdied Frenchman under arms. The Repub- 
licans, le^d by Favre, Gambetta, and Kera- 
try, however, indulged in daily assaults upon 
the head of the Government, denouncing the 
Emperor for meddling with the management 
of the army, and charging the majority with 
the responsibility of having entered upon a 
war for which the country was not prepared. 
Marshal Bazaine was placed in chief corn- 
mind of the army; Le Boeuf, who, as 
previous Minister of War and subsequently 
Major-General or Chief-of-Staff of the army, 
was justly held accountable in great part for 
the Prussian victories, was deposed ; General 



Trochu, who liad enjoyed a high reputation 
as a soldier, without having an opportunity 
to display his ability, was named as Le 
Boeuf's successor, but sent at first to the 
camp at Chalons to organize the new levies, 
and from that position called back to Paris, 
on August 17, as Military Governor of the 
capital, in place of Marshal Paraguay d'llill- 
iers ; and throughout France, as well as in 
Paris, there was siich an expression of deter- 
mination to repel the invader, that the entire 
nation appeared at last to have realized the 
magnitude of its peril and risen to an equality 
with the situation. 

THE PEKIL or PARIS, 

THE POSITION OF THE CAPITAL FROM A FRENCH STAND- 
POINT — ITS DEFEASES — THE VULNERABLE POINT — 
HOW THE SIEGE MUST BE CONDUCTED. 

Paris is not an ordinary fortress, it is a vast 
intrenched camp, defended by more than 
half a million of men, and protected by a 
wall of circumvallation eighteen miles in cir- 
cumference,, defended by ninety-three bas- 
tions, and fortified in accordance with the 
most perfect rules of the art. Nor is this all. 
These strong defenses are themselves de- 
fended, at distances varying from one and a 
quarter miles to four and a half miles, by a 
girdle of fifteen detached forts, provided with 
seven great ©utworks, flanking each other, 
and forming a second inclosure of thirty 
miles in circumference, whose powerful artil- 
lery can sweep everything before it at a 
distance of six miles. Paris, finally, is 
defended by the Seine, by the Marne, and by 
a circular railroad with which all the lines in 
France are connected, and which renders it 
possible to convey troops with great rapidity 
to the points menaced in the outer or inner 
line of fortifications. A place of this extent 
can be subjected neither to a proper siege 
nor to an investment complete enough to 
shut out reinforcements and supplies. It 
can, then, only be attacked at a given point, 
and the question remains what is the most 
vulnerable point of this immense circuit. 

The forts of the east — Romainville, Noesy, 
Rosny, Nogent. and Vincennes — are very 
advantageously situated on the summit of a 
plateau, partly covered by the Marne. They 
form a formidable line of defence, and it would 
be imprudent — so the Prussian oflficei form- 
ally declares — to attempt an attack at this 
point. Nor must an attack be thoiightof on 
the Fort Charenton. situated to the south of 
the preceding, because, after its capture, it 
would be necessary to cross the Marne, under 
the triple fire of the forts of Vincennes, Ivry, 
and inner works of Paris. To the south of 
Paris and to the west of Charenton are 
situated the forts of Irry and Bicetre. but 
the siege works could only be executed under 
the fire of the adjoining forts. The other 
forts on the south — Montrouge, Vannes. and 
Issy — rising on the steep heights which 
extend from Sceaux to Versailles, are difficult 
of attack, and the same may be said of the 
citadel of Mont Valerien, the only fort which 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



tr 



iefends Paris on the west. Mont Valerien 
8 situated at a distance of five miles from 
;he fort of Isay, but counting from the latter, 
Paris is doubly covered by the Seine, which 
irst flows to the northeast, forms a bend, 
joins tlie forts of St. Denis, and then directs 
ts course to the southwest, parallel to and 
slightly distant from the first curve. Exactly 
n the middle of these bendings of the river 
s situated Mont Valerien. The French 
jould launch vessels upon the Seine, armed 
vith guns of heavy calibre, which would 
nflicl cruel havoc on the besiegers. The 
■iver Seine, from Issy to St. Gloud. and 
aeyond Mont Valerien, is besides protected 
jy obstacles in the shape of wooded heights 
md country villas, which could easily be 
vdapted for purposes of defense. 

The efforts of the besiegers must therefore 
)e directed upon St. Denis, and here we 
jorrow the exact words of the Prussian 
Lieutenant-CoJonel : — " For a German be- 
sieging army, the points of attack of the 
fortifications of Paris are naturally the north 
md northeast. In the first place they are 
:he weakest, for the east front is partly 
jovered by the Marne. and those of the south 
md west are the strongest, and their attack 
TTiight compromise the line of retreat of the 
jesiegers, upon which the French army of 
•eserve would not fail to operate. So as not 
;o expose themselves to have this cut, the 
jesif'gers must choose the north as the point 
)f attack, for their army of observation ought 
;o cover the lines of retreat which will follow 
;he course of the Meuse and the Seine, as 
hey could also be able to restore the railroads 
Tom Strasburg and Muhlhouse which run 
ilong these valleys. These roads would also 
serve for the transport of siege material from 
the Rhine fortresses, if the French positions 
3aptured had not already furnished it. In 
my case the material must be of the very 
heaviest calibre. Admitting that the German 
array of observation should be stronger than 
the French army of reserve, and that the 
latter, held at a distance from Paris, was 
nnable to interrupt the siege, St. Denis should 
be the first point of attack. Its capture 
would, in fact, permit of an advance towards 
Montmartre on the wall of circumvallation, 
without being exposed to the flank and rear 
fire of the outer forts. Only those who start 
from the Seine need be regarded with any 
apprehension. 

The three forts of St. Denis and that of 
Aubervilliers will be simultaneously be- 
sieged, and a less serious attack will be made 
on the other forts facing east. The siege 
will then assume the same character as that 
of Sebastopol, and the siege works will have 
to be undertaken at the same time against a 
line of fortifications extending over several 
leagues. St. Denis is situated on the right 
bank of the Seine, which.^at this point, dou- 
bles back on its course, and forms a tongue 
of land whence the siege works might be 
taken in flank and rear. Its occupation by 
the besiegers becomes thus a necessity. It 



is difficult, but not impossible, if the Seine is 
crossed in the neighborhood of Argenteuil. 
The besiegers will then be able to command 
the citadel of Mont Valerien, situated upon 
the second tongue of land, to destroy the 
railroad communication of the left bank of 
the Seine with Paris, and to cover the attack 
upon St. Denis. A bridge thrown over the 
Seine would place them in communication 
with the troops operating on the right bank. 
In order to execute this daring plan, the 
Prussian strategist assigns to each corps of 
the invading army the place it ought to »c- 
cupy, and the part it will be called upoi. to 
play in the general plan of operations. He 
places 50,000 men before the three forts of 
St Denis, and on the tongue of lajid formed 
by the Seine betwt-en St. Denis and Mount 
Valerien. He masses 20,000 men on the 
north at St. Denis in order to cover the 
siege of this point, and to reinforce the corps 
isolated on both banks of the Seine. These 
70,000 men are to find their material of prepa- 
ration to the north of St. Denis, or in the 
forest of Bondy. We might concentrate, he 
adds, 30,000 men in this forest, 20.000 at 
Bourget, behind La Molette, and 30,000 at 
Neuilly-sur-Marne, in order to occupy the 
routes from Metz and from Coulommiers, 
and sustain the besieging corps at St. Denis. 
The 20,000 men at Bourget would menace 
the fort of Aubervilliers, and might be able 
to besiege it. They would be scarcely two 
and a half miles distant from St. Denis, and 
would form, along with the troops posted at 
this point, a mass of 90,000 men. These, 
united with the 30,000 established in the 
forest of Bondy, at two and a half miles from 
Bourget, would be able to offer in this forest 
a very energetic resistance in the event of 
being compelled to retreat, or if they wished 
to act against the sallies in force of the be- ■ 
sieged, to which they would necessarily be 
exposed. On the other hand, the 30,000 
men posted at Neuilly, on the right bank of 
the Marne, will be able to occupy the hill to 
the east of the fort of Rosny, and to under- 
take a series of attacks, not very formidable, 
it is true, against the forts facing east, as 
well as to form, with the 30,000 men, in the 
forest of Bondy, an army of 60,000, which 
could secure the path of retreat. Other 
30,000 men should be placed between Neuilly- 
sur-Marne and Villeneuve-sur-Seine, in order 
to observe the roads which start from the 
confluence of the Seine and the Marne 
towards the east. Bridges established on the 
Marne would place these 30,000 men in com- 
munication with the troops established on 
the right bank at Neuilly. The besieging 
army would then number 180.000 men, but 
to besiege Paris this is not sufficient. To 
protect adequately the besiegers, a great 
army of observation is required. This rale 
is assigned by the Prussian lieutenant-colonel 
to the 3d Amy, whom he supposes to num- 
ber 120,000 men, and to whom he wishes to 
join a 4th army, penetrating into France by 
way of Switzerland. On this hypothesis, tlie 



§8 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



invading army would arrive before Paris 
■with an effective strength of 400.000 men. 
The task of the latter divisions would be to 
hold the French army of relief as far from 
Paris as possible, to intercept supplies, and 
to destroy the railroads which place Paris in 
communication with the south and west of 
France. 

DEPUTY JULES FAVRE. 

5?HE MAN FOR PRESIDENT OP THE FRENCH RP.PUBLTC — 

A SKETCH OF HI.S CAREER A LIFE DEVOTED TO THE 

CAUSE OF LIBRRTV, AND UNTAINTED WITH FANATI- 
CISM — HIS BRILLIANT POLITICAL RECORD, AND 
EARNEST ANTAGONISM TO BONAPARTISM IN EVERY 
SHAPE. 

As a Arm, consistent, and constant advo- 
cate for more than twenty years of Repub- 
lican principles, M. Jules Favre occupies a 
leading position in the Corps L^gislatif of 
France. Indeed, there is but one man who 
has pretended to dispute with him the leader- 
ship of the true Republican party since 
Emile Ollivier went over to the Empire for 
the sake of making his futile experiment at 
constitutional government under a Bonaparte 
regime, and that man is M. Gambetta. 

Gabriel Claude Jules Favre is almost twice 
as old as his rival, Gambetta, having been 
born at Lyons on March 31, 1809. In the 
revolution of July, 1830, which foimd him a 
student at law in Paris, he took an active 
part, and from that day to this, through the 
press, at the bar, and in the different Na- 
tional Assemblies, he has remained a bold, un- 
daunted, outspoken champion of the better 
type of French republicanism. The inde- 
pendence of his character, the bitter irony of 
his address, and the consistent radicalism of 
his opinions, soon achieved for him a repu- 
tation, which has never been sullied by any 
compromise with Bonapartism other than 
the taking of the oath of allegiance to the 
Empire, when he finally entered the Corps 
L6gislatif. He was admitted to the bar 
soon after arriving at age, and during the 
reign of Louis Phillippe devoted himself 
mainly to the practice of his profession. It 
was not until after the Revolution of Febru- 
ary, 1848, that he entered office for the first 
time. He then became Secretary-General to 
the Minister of the Interior, and in that capa- 
city was called on to write the circular to the 
Commissioners of the Provisional Govern- 
ment and the famous " Bulletins " of 1848. 
He was soon transferred to the Under-Secre- 
taryship for Foreign Affairs, and, being 
elected a member of the Assembly, voted for 
the prosecution of Louis Blanc and Caussi- 
diere, for their complicity in the insurrection 
of June, 1848 ; refused to join in the vote of 
thanks to General Cavaignac ; and resolutely 
opposed the expedition to Rome in Decem- 
ber, 1848, by which Louis Napoleon incurred 
the hostility of the leading republicans with 
whom he had theretofore affHiated. He op- 
posed the elevation of the Bonaparte adven- 
turer to the Presidency, and after that event 
became his strenuous antagonist in the 



National Assembly. The implication of 
Ledrn-Rollin in the plot to overthrow the 
Prince President rendered it necessary for 
the leader of the " Mountain " party to seek 
safety in England, after which Jules Favre 
succeeded to the leadership. 

By the cotip d'etat he was driven into re- 
tirement, as he refused to take the oath of 
allegiance to the new Constitution on being 
elected a member of the Counseil-General of 
Loire-et-Rhone. He then devoted himself 
for some years to his profession, and as one 
of the counsel of Orsini, in October, 18ii8, 
created an immense sensation by the bold- 
ness and eloquence of his defence of the 
reckless enthusiast who had attempted the 
life of the Emperor. But he entered the 
Corps L6gislatif the same year, taking the 
oath of allegiance to the empire which he de- 
tested ; and since that time, by successive 
re-elections in 1863 and 1869, has signalized 
himself by an unswerving antagonism of the 
Imperial policy. He was one of the original 
"five" opposition members, has advocated 
the complete liberty of the press, opposed 
the " law of deportation," fought against 
French interference in the Italian war of in- 
dependence against Austria, in 18.o9. and in 
1864 severely assailed the ill-starred Mexican 
venture of the Emperor. In 1837, he pub- 
lished a work entitled " Contemporaneous 
Biography," and since that time many of his 
famous speeches, and several pamphlets have 
been given to the public in a permanent 
form. In August, 1860, and again in 1861, 
he was elected hatonnier or president of the 
order of advocates at Paris, a fitting recog- 
nition of his high standing in the profession; 
and in May, 1867, he became a member of the 
French Academy. 

When Napoleon showed signs of yielding 
something to the pressure of public opinion, 
after the general elections of May. 1869. M. 
Favre's name came to be mentioned promi- 
nently in connection with Ollivier's as the 
head of the responsible ministry which was 
about to be installed. But he soon dispelled 
the possibility of the scheme by declaring 
his dissatisfaction with the proposed "con- 
stitutional regime." " So long," he wrote in 
September last, " as the press is amenable to 
judges only, and not to a jury ; so long as 
there is no guarantee for individual liberty ; 
so long as elections are not free, and the 
mayors are not elected by the populations ; 
so long as an enormous standing army 
weighs upon our budget, we si: uld be the 
most contemptible people on earth if w© 
were satisfied." So he succeeded to the posi- 
tion vacated by Ollivier, on the latter's ac- 
cession to power. 

On the 25th of June last, just before the 
war-cloud gathered over .Europe, M. Favre 
delivered a famous speech in the Chamber, 
in which he was as unmerciful to the first 
empire as to the second. While supporting 
a proposal of the Left that the municipalities 
should be allowed to elect their mayors, he 
asserted that the inherent rights of the 



THE rilANCO-GERMAK WAR. 



59 



aunicipalitiest, recognized as early as tlie 
■-hirtoeuth century, had been stamped out 
by the first Napoleon. Dazzled by tlie glit- 
ter of his military glory, France was still 
under the inOuence of his tyrannical ideas, 
under the false impression tliat a genius liud 
saved her from ruin, while in reality he had 
ruined lier and annihilated her liberties. 
This plain speaking created a great uproar, 
and when (jranier de Cassaignac, one of tlie 
most servile tools of the third Napoleon, 
mterrupted him with the declaration that 
the first Napoleon " covered France with 
institutions; you and your friends with 
ruins." M. Favre referred to the humiliation 
of France through foreign invasions, which 
would have been averted if liberty had held 
command of the army instead of despotism, 
declared that there was not a single man in 
the Chamber who would venture to assert 
that liberty existed under the first empire, 
and continued : — " I am vindicating the glory 
of the country against the unconscious vota- 
ries of despotism, who are anxious to revive 
traditions tvhich ivould once more bring about 
our degradation!'^ 

'I'hese stirring words, uttered scarcely 
three weeks before the declaration of war 
against Prussia, and before there was a sign 
of the approaching conflict, were uncon- 
sciously prophetic. 

The rise of the HohenzoUern difficulty 
found M. Favre fully prepared to lead the 
assault upon the Ollivier Government. On 
tne 8th of July, when the ministry attempted 
to secure a postponement of the discus- 
sion of the question, and refused to lay be- 
fore the Chamber the documents relating to 
it, he declaied that the object of delay was 
to afferd an opportunity for stock-jobbing on 
the Bourse, and when the final declaration 
of war came, took his stand by the side of 
Thiers and Gambetta, and insisted upon the 
production of all the correspondence with 
Prussia, declaring that France could not 
make war on the authority of mere telegrams. 
But after the Fren?;h defeat at Weissenburg, 
he at once urged an unflinching resistance to 
the invader, joining with sixteen other depu- 
ties on the 8th of August in signing a de- 
mand that all France should be armed to 
repel the enemy. 

On the 9th the Corps Legislatif was re- 
assembled by order of the Empress, and in 
the exciting scene which ensued, ending in 
Ollivier's downfall, M. Favre played an im- 
portant part. Ollivier opened the session by 
stating that the deputies had been called to- 
gether bel'ore tiie situation of the country 
had been compromised, to which M. Favre 
answered that it had already been compro- 
mised by the incapacity of its chief. ''De- 
scend from the tribune," he cried out to Olli- 
vier; "this is shameful! In spite of its 
government, the country is patriotic, but it 
is vilely ruled." He then offered resolutions 
for arming every able-bodied citizen of Paris 
on the electoral lists, and for investing in an 
executive ^mmiltee of fifteen members the 



full powers of the Government for repelling 
foreign invasion In his speech in support 
of these propositions, M. Favre insisted that 
the Emperor should be recalled from the 
army, and that the only hope of saving the 
country was by wresting power from incapa- 
ble hands that then held it. His proposition 
for the assumption of supreme authority by 
the Corps Legislatif was declared by the 
President, the obsequious Schneider, to be 
revolutionary, and that functionary refuse<^l 
to submit it to a vote. 

The Ollivier ministry were driven from 
power, and on the accession of the Count de 
Palikao, M. Favre gave the new government 
his cordial support in all measures for the 
resistance of the invaders, continually and 
repeatedly urging upon it, however, t^ie ne- 
cessity for prompt and decisive action. He 
also continued to maintain that all the mis- 
fortunes of the country came from that fatal 
mismanagement to which the Chamber had 
been compelled to submit ; and, after the 
disastrous battles near Metz and the ap- 
proach of the Crown Prince at the head of 
his army towards the capital, endeavored to 
inspire his countrymen with patriotic zeal, 
denouncing as thrice accursed the citizen of 
France who foiinded his hopes for the future 
upon defeat and ruin. 

Such has been the career of Jules Favre — 
a career which is happily as free from fanati- 
cism as it is from treachery to the cause of 
liberty and justice. He has never displayed 
any tendencies towards the "irreconcilable" 
school of which Raspail and Rochefort are 
the types, and thus retains the confidence 
and respect of those who preferred stability 
under a Bonaparte to anarchy under a mod- 
ern Jacobin. In patriotism, in experience, 
in discretion, in ability, and in devotion to 
the cause of true Republicanism, Jules Favre 
is the foremost man in France. He com- 
bines perhaps in a greater degree than any 
of his contemporaries the elements of sta- 
bility and radicalism ;' and, if a republic is to 
rise from the ruins of the empire, his claims 
upon the chief magistracy of the nation are 
superior to those of any who may antagonize 
them. Whether, in the tumult of the great 
upheaval, his rare worth will receive its fit- 
ting recognition is a question which time 
alone can decide. 

THE REVOLUTION IN PARIS. 

CORRPCTED LIST OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE GOVERN- 
MENT THE NEW MINISTRY. 

Paris, September 5. — The following is a 
corrected list of the Provision Government 
taking the name of the National Defense 
Government : — Emmanuel Arago, Cremieux, 
Jules Favre, Jules Ferry, Gambetta. Garnier- 
Pages, Glais-Bizoin, Pelletan, Ernest Picard, 
Rochefort, Jules Simon. The Ministry is as 
follows: 

Minister of Foreign Affairs — Jules Favre. 

Minister of Justice — Isaac Cremieux. 

Minister of the Interior — Leon Gambetta. 

Minister of Finance — Ernest Picard. 



60 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



Superintendent of Public Works — Pierre 
Dorian. 

Minister of Commerce — Joseph Magnin. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — 
Jules Simon. 

Minister of Marine — Martin Fourichon. 

Minister of War — Louis Jules Trochu ; 
also, President of the Committee. 

The French Republic of 1870 has been 
recognized by the United States, and this 
comes about by the fall of Napoleon. 

THg DECISIVE BATTLE OP THE WAB. 

KARSHAL MACMAHON's WHOLE ARHT CAPTURED — THE 
EMPEROR SURRENDERS TO KING WILLIAM — MACMA- 
HON SEVERELY W.OUKDED — DESPATCH FBOU ; KING 
WILLIAM. 

Before Sedan, France, 
■ Friday, Sept. 2 — 1:22 p. M. 

From the King to the Queen. — A capitula- 
tion, whereby the whole army at Sedan are 
prisoners of war, has just been concluded 
with Gen. Wimpfen, commanding, instead 
of Marshal MacMaJion, who is wounded. The 
Emperor surrendered himself to me, as he 
lias no command, and left everything to the 
Regency at Paris. His residence I shall 
appoint after an interview with him at a 
rendezvous to be fixed immediately. Under 
God's guidance, what a course events have 
taken ! 

THE BATTLE AND THE SUBBENDEB. 

THE FRENCH CUT OFF FROM MEZIERES — SEDAN COM- 
PLETELY SURROUNDED — THE FORTIFICATIONS CAR- 
RIED BY THE BAVARIANS — THE EMPEROR'S LETTER 
TO KING WILLIAM. 

(The following account I take from the 
New York Tribune's correspondent. This 
paper, during the war, had full and correct 
accounts of every battle, and its dispatches 
were copied throughout the United States. — 
Ed.) 

" The battle of Sedan began at 6 a. m. on 
the 1st of September. Two Prussian corps 
were in position on the west of Sedan, hav- 
ing got there by a long forced march, so as 
to cut off the French retreat to M6ziferes. 
On the south of Sedan was the First Bava- 
rian Corps, and on the east, across the 
Meuse, the Second Bavarian Corps. The 
Saxons were on the northeast with the 
Guards. I was with the King throughout 
the day on the hill above the Meuse, com- 
manding a splendid view of the valley of the 
river and the field. 

" After a tremendous battle, the Prussians 
caving completely surrounded Sedan, and 
the Bavarians having actually entered the 
fortifications of the city, the Emperor capitu- 
lated at 5:15 p. m. His letter to the king of 
Prussia said : 

" ' ,4s / cannot die at the head of my army, 
I lay my sivord at the feet of your Majesty. ' 

'•Napoleon left Sedan for the Prussian 
head-quarters at Vendresse, at 7 A. m. on the 
2d September. MacMahon's whole army 
'comprising 100,000 men, capitulated without 
conditions. The Prussians had 240,000 troops 
engaged or in reserve, the>-French 120,000." 



Head-quarters King of Germans, eight 
miles from Sedan, Thursday night Sept. 1, 
1870. 

WHAT THE FBENCH PEISONEBS SAY. 

After their defeats on the 30th and Slst 
ult., the French retreated en masse on Sedan, 
and encamped around it. From what I 
learned from the French prisoners — of whom, 
as you may imagine, there was no lack in 
our quarter — it seems that they fully be- 
lieved that the road to M^ziferes would al- 
ways be open to them, and that therefore, 
in case of another defeat before Sedan, their 
retreat would be easily accomplished. 

A FOBCED HABCH. 

On the evening of Wednesday, from 5 to 
8 o'clock, I was at the Crown Prince's quar- 
ters at Chemery, a village some thirteen miles 
from Sedan to the south-south-west on the 
main road. At half-past five we saw that 
there was a great movement among the 
troops encamped all around us, and we 
thought at first that the King was riding 
through the bivouacs ; but soon the 37th 
regiment came pouring through the village, 
their band playing Die Wacht am Rhein as 
they marched along with a swinging stride. 
I saw at once by the men's faces that some- 
thing extraordinary was going on. It was 
soon plain that the troops were in the light- 
est possible marching order. All their knap- 
sacks were left behind, and they were carry- 
ing nothing but cloaks slung around their 
shoulders, except that one or two hon vivants 
had retained their camp-kettles. But if the 
camp-kettles were left behind, the cartouche- 
cases were there — hanging heavily in front 
of the men's belts, unbalanced, as they ought 
to be, by the knapsacks. Soon I learned 
that the whole Prussian corps — those lent 
from Prince Frederick Charles' army, the 
Second Army, and the Crown Prince's — 
were making a forced march to the left in 
the direction of Donchery and M6ziferes, in 
order to shut in MacMahon's army in the 
west, and so drive them against the Belgian 
frontier. I learned from the officers of the 
Crown Prince's staff that at the same time, 
while we were watching regiment after regi- 
ment pass through Chemery the Saxons and 
the Guards, 80.000 strong on the Prussian 
right, under Prince Albert of Saxony, were 
also marching rapidly, to close on the 
doomed French army on the right bank of 
the Meuse, which they had crossed at Re- 
milly, on Tuesday the 30th, in the direction 
of La Chapelle, a small village of 930 inhabi- 
tants on the road from Sedan to Bouillon, m 
Belgium, and the last village before crossing 
the frontier. 

Anything more splendid than the men's 
marching, it would be impossible to imagine. 
I saw men lame in both feet hobbling ahuig 
in the ranks, kind comrades less footsore car- 
rying their needle-guns. Those- who were 
actually incapable of putting one foot before 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



6J 



anotlicr. had pressed peasants' wagons and 
every available conveyance into service, and 
were followinsj in the rear, so as to be ready 
tor the prreat battle, which all felt sure would 
conic off on the morrow. The Bavarians, 
who. it is generally believed, do not march 
so well as they fight, were in the center, be- 
tween us at Cheraery and Sedan, encamped 
around the woods of La Marfce, famous for 
a great battle in 1641, during the wars of the 
League. When I had seen the last regiment 
dash through — for the pace at which they 
went can really not be called "marching" 
in the ordinary sense — I rode off about a 
quarter past eight in the evening for Vend- 
resse where the King's headquarters were, 
and where I hoped to find house-room for 
man and beast, especially the latter, as be- 
ing far the most important on the eve of a 
great battle. 

When I got within about half a mile of 
Yendresse, going at a steady trot, a sharp 
"Halt!" rang out through the clear air. I 
brought my horse to a stand-still, knowing 
that Prussian sentries are not to be trifled 
with. As I pulled up 20 yards off", I heard 
the clicks of their locks as they brought their 
weapons to full cock and covered me. My 
reply being satisfactory, I jogged on into 
Vendresse, and my mare and myself had 
soon forgotten sentinels, forced marches, and 
coming battles, one of us on the straw, the 
other on the floor. 

THE START FOR THE BATTLE-FIELD. 

At seven, Thursday morning, my servant 
came to wake me, saying that the King's 
horses were harnessing, and that His Majesty 
would leave in half an hour for the battle- 
field ; and as a cannonade had already been 
heard near Sedan, I jumped up, seized crusts 
of bread, wine, cigars, etc., and crammed 
them into my holster, taking my breakfast 
on the way. 

Just as I got to my horse, King William 
drove out in an open carriage with four 
horses, for Chevange, about three and a half 
miles south of Sedan. Much against ray will, 
I was compelled to allow the King's staff to 
precede me on the road to the scene of ac- 
tion, where I arrived myself soon after nine 
o'clock. It was impossible to ride fast, all 
the roads being blocked up with artillery, 
ammunition wagons, ambulances, etc. As I 
ode on to the crest of the hill which rises 
harply about 600 or 700 feet above the little 
amlet of Chevange, nestled in a grove below, 

A HOST GLORIOUS PANORAMA. 

burst on my view. As General Forsyth of 
the United States array remarked to me later 
in the day, it would have been worth the 
coming, merely to see so splendid a scene, 
without •' battle's magnificently stern array." 
In the lovely valley below us, from the knoll 
on which I stood with the King and his 
staff, we could see not only the whole Valley 
-of the Meuse (or Maas, as the Germans love 



to call the river that liouis XIV stole from 
them), but also beyond the great woods of 
Bois de Loup and Francheval into Belgium, 
and as far as the hilly forest of Numo on the 
other side of the frontier. Right at our feet 
lay the little town of Sedan, famous for its 
fortifications by Vauban, and as the birth- 
place of Turenne — the great Marshal. It is 
known, also, as the place where Sedan chairs 
originated. As we were only about two and 
a quarter miles from the town, we could 
easily distinguish its principal edifices with- 
out the aid of our field-glasses. On the left 
was a pretty church, its Gothic spire of 
sandstone offering a conspicuous target for 
the Prussian guns, had Gen. Moltke thought 
fit to bombard the town. To the right, ou 
the southeast of the church, was a large bar 
rack, with the fortifications of the citadel. 
Behind it and beyond this to the southeast 
again was the old chateau of Sedan, with 
picturesque, round-turreted towers of the 
sixteenth century, very useless even against 
four-pounder Krupp field-pieces. This build- 
ing, I believe, is now an arsenal. Beyond 
this was the citadel — the heart of Sedan — on 
a rising hill above the Meuse to the south- 
east, but completely commanded by the hills 
on both sides the river which runs in front 
of the citadel. 

A GRAVE FREIICH BLUNDER. 

The French had flooded the low meadows 
in the valley before coming to the railway 
bridge at Bazeille, in order to stop the Ger- 
mans from advancing on the town in that 
direction. With their usual stupidity (for 
one can find no other word for it), the 
French had failed to mine the bridge at Ba- 
zeille, and it was of immense service to the 
Prussians throughout the battle. The Prus- 
sians actually threw up earthworks on tha 
iron bridge itself to protect it from the 
French, who more than once attempted early 
in the day to storm the bridge, in the hope 
of breaking the Bavarian communicaiion 
between the right and left banks of the 
Meuse. This tiiey were unable to do ; and 
although their cannon-shot have almost de- 
molished the parapet, the bridge itself was 
never materially damaged. 

POSITION OF THE CONTENDING FORCES. 

On the projecting spurs of the hill, crowned 
by the woods of La Marfee, of which I have 
already spoken, the Bavarians had posted two 
batteries of six-pounder rifled breech-loadmg 
steel Krupp guns, which kept up a duello till 
the very end of the day with the siege guns 
of Sedan across the Meuse. Still further to 
the right flank, or rather, to the east (for our 
line was a circular one — a cresent at first, 
with Sedan on the center like the star on the 
Turkish standard), was an undulating plain, 
above the village of Bazeille. Terminating 
about a mile and a half from Sedan, at the 
woods near Rubeceurt, midway — that is to 
say, in a line from Bazeille north — there is a 
ravine watered by a tiuy brook, which was 



62 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



the scene o( the most desperate struggle and 
of the mest frightful slaughter of the whole 
battle. This stream, whose name I have 
forgotten, if it ever had one, runs right 
behind the town of Sedan. 

From the woods of Fleigreuse on the north 
behind the town, rises a hill dotted with cot- 
tages and fruit-laden orchards, and crowned 
by the wood of La Garenne which runs down 
to the valley of which I havejust spoken. 
Between this wood and the town were several 
French camps, their white shelter tents 
standing out clear among the dark fruit-trees. 
In these camps one could see throughout the 
day huge masses of troops which were never 
used. Even during the height of the battle, 
they stood as idle as Fitz John Porter's at 
the second battle of Bull-Run. We imagined 
that they must have been undisciplined 
Gardes Mobiles whom the French Generals 
dared not bring out against their enemy. 

To the Prussian left of these French camps, 
separated from them by a wooded ravine, was 
a long bare hill, something like one of the 
hills on Long Island, This hill, on which 
was some of the hardest fighting of the day, 
formed one of the keys of the position of the 
French army. When once its crests were 
covered with Prussian artillery, the whole 
town of Sedan was completely at the mercy 
of the German guns, as they were not only 
above the town, but the town was almost 
•within musket range of them. 

Still further to the left lay the village of 
Illy, set on fire early in the day by the French 
shells. South of this the broken railway 
bridge, blown up by the French to protect 
their right, was a conspicuous object. 

Right above the railway bridge on the line 
to M6zifere8 was the wooded hill crowded by 
the new and most hideous " chateau," as he 
calls it, of one Monsieur Pave. It was here 
the Crown Prince and his stafi" stood during 
the day, having a rather more extensive but 
less central view, and therefore less desirable 
than ours, where stood the King, Count 
Bismarck, Von Roon, the War Minister, 
Gen. Moltke, and Gens. Sheridan and For- 
syth — to say nothing of your correspondent. 

THE PKTISSIAN PLAN OF BATTLE. 

Having thus endeavored to give some faint 
idea of the scene of what is in all probability 
the decisive battle of the war. 1 will next 
give an account of the position of the difi"er- 
ent corps at the commencement of the ac- 
tion, premising that all the movements were 
of the simplest possible nature, the object of 
the Prussian generals being merely to close 
the crescent of troops with which they began 
into a circle by effecting a junction between 
the Saxon corps on their right and the Prus- 
sian corps on their left. This jmiction took 
place about noon, near the little village of 
Olley.on the Bazeille ravine, behitd Sedan, of 
•which I have already spoken Once their 
terrible circle formed and well soldered to- 
gether, it grew steadily smaller and smaller, 



until at last the fortifications of Sedan itself 
were entered. 

On the extreme right were the Saxons — 
one copps d'armee, with King William's 
Guards ; also, a corps d'armee in reserve be- 
hind them. The Guards had suffered terri- 
bly at Gravelotte, where they met the 
Imperial Guard ; and the King would not 
allow them to be again so cruelly decimated. 
Justice compels me to state that this ar- 
rangement was very far, indeed, from being 
pleasing to the Guards themselves, who are 
ever anxious to be in the forefront of the 
battle. 

The Guards and Saxons, then about 
75,000 strong, were all day on the right 
bank of the Meuse. between Rubecourt and 
La Chapelle, at which latter village Prmce 
Albert of Saxony, who was in command of 
the two corps which have been formed into 
a httle extra army by themselves, passed the 
night of Thursday. 

The ground from Rubecourt to the Meuse 
was occupied by the First Bavarian Corps. 
The Second Bavarian Corps extended their 
front from near the Bazeille railway-bridge to 
a point on the high road from Donchery to 
Sedan, not far from the little village of 
Torcy. Below the hill on which the Crown 
Prince was placed, the ground from Torcy 
to Illy, throitgh the large village of Floing, 
was held by the First and Third Prussian 
Corps, belonging to the army of Prince 
Frederick Charles, and temporarily attached 
to the army of the Crown Prince. 

This was the position of the troops about 
9 o'clock on Thursday morning, September 
1st, and no great advance took place till 
later than that, for the artillery had at first 
all the work to do. Still further to the 
left, near Donchery, there were 20.000 
WUrtembergers ready to cut off the French 
from M^ziferes, in case of their making a 
push for that fortress. 

THE FOBCES ENGAGED. 

The number of the Prussian troops engaged 
was estimated by General Moltke at 240,000, 
and that of the French at 120,000. We 
know that MacMahon had with him on 
Tuesday 120,000 men, that is, four corps , 
his own, that lately commanded by General 
De Failly, now under General Le Brun; that 
of Felix Douay, brother of General Abel 
Douay, killed at Weissenburg ; and a fourth 
corps principally composed of Garde Mobile, 
the name of whose commander has escape-i 
me. MacMahon, although woimded, com- 
manded in chief on the French side. 

It is almost needless to say that the real 
Commander-in-Chief of the Prussians was 
Von Moltke; with the Crown Prince and 
Prince Albert of Saxony immediately next 
in command. 

OPENING OF THE BATTLE. 

There were a few stray cannon shots fired, 
merely to obtain the range, as soon as it was- 




CITIZE2q-S AIS^D SOLDIERS AT WORK 01^ THE EORTIEICATIONS 

OF PARIS. 

aJurocr ttnb ^oMUn mMUn m ben fBtx\^nnmm t>on gJoril. 




PRINCE LEOPOLD OF HOHEXZOLLERN-SIGMARINGEN. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



er 



Mglit ; bnt the real battle did not begin until 
C o'clock, becoming a sharp artillery fight at 
9, when the batteries had each got within 
easy rang^. and the shells began to do serious 
mischief. At 11:55 the musketry fire in the 
valley behind Sedan, which had opened about 
11:25, became exceedingly lively — being one 
continuous rattle, only broken by tlie loud 
growling of the mitrailleuses, which played 
with deadly effect upon the Saxon and Bava- 
rian columns. Gen. Sheridan, by whose 
side I was standing at the time, told me that 
he did not remember ever to have heard such 
a well-sustained fire of small arms. It made 
itself heard above the roar of the batteries 
at our feet. 

At 12 o'clock precisely the Prussian battery 
«f six guns on the slope above the broken 
railway bridge over the Meuse, near La 
Villette, had silenced two batteries of French 
guns at the foot of the bare hill already 
mentioned, near the village of Floing. At 
12:10 the French infantry, no longer sup- 
ported by their artillery, were compelled to 
retire to Floing, and soon afterward the 
junction between the Saxons and Prussians 
behind Sedan was announced to us by Gen. 
Von Roon, eagerly peering through a large 
telescope, as being safely completed. 

THE 7BENCH SUSBOUNSED. ^ 

From this moment the result of the battle 
could no longer be doubtful. The French 
"were completely surrounded and brought to 
bay. At 12:25 we were all astonished to see 
clouds of retreating French infantry on the 
hill between Floing and Sedan, a Prussian 
battery in front of St. Menges making accu- 
rate practice with percussion shells among 
the receding ranks. The whole hill for a 
quarter of an hour was literally covered with 
Frenchmen running rapidly. 

Less than half an hour afterward — at 
12:50 — Gen. Von Roon called our attention 
to another French column in full retreat to 
the right of Sedan, on the road leading from 
Bazeille to the La Garenne wood. They 
never halted until they came to a red-roofed 
house on the outskirts of Sedan itself. Al- 
most at the same moment Gen. Sheridan, 
who was using my opera-glass, asked me to 
look at a third French column moving up a 
broad, grass-covered road through the La 
Garenne wood, immediately above Sedan, 
lonbtless to support the troops defending 
the important Bazeille ravine to the north- 
east of the town. 

THE KET OF THE POSITION. 

At 1 o'clock the French batteries on the 
edge of the wood toward Torcy and above it 
opened a vigorous fire on the advancing 
Prussian columns of the Third Corps, whose 
evident intention it was to storm the hill 
northwest of La Garenne, and so gain the 
key of the position on that side. At 1 :05 yet 
another French battery near the wood 
opened on the Prussian columns, which 



were compelled to keep shifting their ground 
till ready for their final rush at the hills, in 
order to avoid offering so good a mark to the 
French shells. Shortly afterward we saw the 
first Prussian skirmishers on the crest of the 
La Garenne hills above Torcy. They did not 
seem to be in strength, and General Sheri- 
dan, standing behind me, exclaimed : 

"Ah ! the beggars are too weak ; they can 
never hold that position against all those 
French." 

The General's prophecy soon proved cor- 
rect, for the French advanced at least six to 
one ; and the Prussians were forced to re- 
treat dewn the hill to seek re-enforcements 
from the columns which were hurrying to 
their support. In five minutes they came 
back agam, this time in greater force, bnt 
still terribly inferior to those huge French 
masses. 

AN UNSUCCESSFUL CAYALBY CHABOE. 

" Good heavens I The French cuirassiers 
are going to charge them," cried General 
Sheridan; and sure enough, the regiment 
of cuirassiers, their helmets and breast- 
plates flashing in the September sun, formed 
m sections of squadrons and dashed down on 
the scattered Prussian skirmishers, without 
deigning to form a line. Squares are never 
used by the Prussians, and the infantry re- 
ceived the cuirassiers with a crushing 
" quick-fire," schnell/euer, at about a hundred 
yards distance, loading and firing with ex- 
treme rapidity, and shooting with unfailing 
precision into the dense French squadrons. 
The effect was startling. Over went horses 
and men in numbers, in masses, in hundreds ; 
and the regiment of proud French cuiras- 
siers went hurriedly back in dieorder ; went 
back faster than it came ; went back scarcely 
a regiment in strength, and not at all a regi- 
ment in form. Its comely array was sud- 
denly changed into shapeless and helpless 
crowds of flying men. 

CAYAIBT FUBSUED BT INFANTBT. 

The moment the cuirassiers turned back, 
the brave Prussians actually dashed forward 
in hot pursuit at double-quick ; infantry 
evidently pursuing flying cavalry. Such a 
thing has not often been recorded in the annals 
of war. I know not when an example to com- 
pare precisely with this has occurred There 
was no more striking episode in the battle. 

" There will be a devil of a fight for that 
crest before it is won or lost," said Sheridan, 
straining his eyes through his fieldrglass at 
the hrll which was not three miles from us. 
The full sun was shining upon that hill ; ws 
gazing upon it had the sun behind us. 

ANOTHEB FBUITLESS CAVALBT CHABOE. 

At 1:30 French cavalry — this time, I pre- 
sume, a regiment of carabiniers — made 
another dash at the Prussians, who, on their 
part, were receiving reinforcements every 
moment ; but the carabiniers met with the 



68 



THE FRANC0-GERMAN WAR. 



same fate as their brethren in iron jackets, 
and were sent to the rig^ht about with heavy 
loss. The Prussians took advantage of their 
fligiit to advance their line about 200 yards 
nearer the hue which the French infantry 
held. 

ANOTHER FRENCH BLUNliEK. 

This body of adventurous Prussians split 
into two portions, the two parts leaving a 
break of a hundred yards' in their line. We 
were not long in perceiving the. object of this 
movement, for the little white puffs from the 
crest behind the skirmishers, followed by a 
commotion in the dense French masses, 
show us that these "diables de .Prussiens" 
have contrived, heaven only knows how, to 
get two four-pounders up the steep ground, 
and have opened fire on the French. Some- 
thing must at this point have been very 
much mismanaged with the French infantry ; 
for. instead of attacking the Prussians, whom 
they still outnumbered by at least two to 
one. they remained in column on the hill, and 
though seeing their only hope of retrieving 
the day vanishing from before their eyes, 
Btill they did not stir. Then the French 
cavalry tried to do 

A LITTLE BALAKLAVA BUSINESS, 

tried, but without the success of the im- 
mortal six hundred, who took the gims on 
wliich they charged. The cuirassiers carne 
down once more, this time riding straight for 
the two field-pieces ; but before they came 
■within 200 yards of the guns, the Prussians 
formed line as if on parade, and waiting 
till those furious French horsemen had 
ridden to a point not fifty yards away, they 
fired. The volley see7ned to us to empty 
the saddles of almost the whole of the lead- 
ing squadron. The dead so strewed the 
ground as to block the path of the squadron 
following, and close before them the direct 
and dangerous road they had meant to follow. 
Their dash at the guns became a halt. 

EETEEAT OF THE FRENCH. 

When once this last effort of the French 
horse had been made and had failed — failed, 
though pushed gallantly so far as men and 
horses could go — the French infantry fell 
swiftly back toward Sedan. It fell back be- 
cause it saw that the chance of its carrying 
that fiercely-contested hill was gone, and 
saw also that the Prussians holding the hill 
■were crowning it with guns, so that their 
own line could not much longer be held 
facing it. In an instant, as the French re- 
tired, the whole slope of the ground was 
covered by swarms of Prussian tirailleurs, 
who seemed to rise oitt of the ground, and 
push forward by help of every slight rough- 
ness or depression in the surface of the hill. 
As fast as the French went back these active 
enemies followed. After the last desperate 
charge of the French cavalry. General Sheri- 
dan remarked to me that he never saw any- 



thing so reckless, so utterly foolish,' as that 
last charge. " It was sheer murder." 

'I'he Prussians, after the French infantry 
fell back, advanced rapidly — so rapidly that 
the retreating squadrons of French cavalry, 
being too closely pressed, turned suddenly 
round and charged desperately once again. 
But it was all no use. The days of breaking 
squares are over. The thin blue line soon 
stopped the Gallic onset. 

It struck me as most extraordinary, that 
at this point the French had 

NEITHER ARTILLERY NOR MITRAILLEUSES, 

especially the latter, on the field to cover 
their infantry. The position was a most im- 
portant one and certainly worth straining 
every nerve to defend. One thing was clear 
enough, that the French infantry, after once 
meeting the Prussians, declined to try con- 
clusions with them again, and that the 
cavalry were seeking to encourage them by 
their example. About 2 o'clock still other 
reinforcements came to the Prussians over 
this long-disputed hill between Torcy and 
Sedan to support the regiments already 
established there. 

HAVOC AMONG THE BAVARIANS. 

At the time that this great coRflict was 
going on under Fritz's eyes, another was 
fought not less severe and as murderous for 
the Bavarians as the one I have attempted 
to describe, was for the French. If there 
was a want of Mitrailleuses on the hill above 
Torcy, there was certainly no lack of them iu 
the Bazeille ravine. On that side there was, 
for more than an hour, one continuous roar 
of musketry and mitrailleuses. Two Bava- 
rian officers told me that the loss in their 
regiments was terrific, and that it was the 
mitrailleuses which made the havoc. 

THE FRENCH FALL BACK ON SEDAN. 

At 2:05 in the afternoon, the French 
totally abandoned the hill between "^I'orcy 
and Sedan, and fell back on the faubourg of 
Caval. just outside the ramparts of the town. 
" Now the battle is lost for the French." said 
General Sheridan, to the delight of the 
Prussian officers. One would almost have 
imagined that the French had heard his 
words — they had hardly been uttered, when 
there came a lull in the firing all along the 
line, or rather circle ; as such it had now be 
come. 

BELGIAN NEUTRALITY. 

Count Bismarck chose that moment to 
come and have a talk with his English and 
American friends. I was anxious to know 
what the Federal Chancellor had done about 
the neutrality of Belgium, now threatened, 
and my curiosity was soon gratified. "I 
have told the Belgian Minister of War." said 
Count Bismarck, " that so long as the Bei 
gian troops do their utmost to disarm any 
number of French soldiers who may cross 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



n 



the frontier, I will strictly respect the neu- 
trality of Belgium ; but if, on the contrary, 
the Belgians, either through negligencs or 
inability, do not disarm and capture every 
man in French uniform who sets his foot in 
their country, we shall at once follow the 
enemy into neutral territory with our troops, 
considerinf? that the French have been the 
first to violate the Belgian soil. I have been 
down to have a look at the Belgian troops 
near the frontier," added Coimt Bismarck, 
" and I confess they do not inspire me with 
a very high opinion of their martial ardor or 
discipline. When they have their great 
coats on. one can see a great deal of paletot, 
but hardly any soldier." 

SISMABCK'S FIEST YISTAKK 

I asked his Excellency where he thought 
tiie Emperor was : " In Sedan ?" " Oh, no 1" 
was the reply ; " Napoleon is not very wise, 
but he is not so foolish as to put himself in 
Sedan just now." For once in hia life, 
Count Bismarck was wrong. 

At 2:45 the King came to the place where 
I was standing. He remarked that he thought 
the French were about to try to break out 
just beneath us in front of the Second Bava- 
rian Corps. At 3:50 General Sheridan told 
me that Napoleon and Louis were in Sedan. 

BSAVEST OF THE BAVASIANS. 

At 3:20 the Bavarians below us not only 
contrived to get themselves inside the fortifi- 
cations of Sedan, but to maintain themselves 
here, working their way forward from house 
to house. About 4, there was a great fight 
for the possession of the ridge above Bazeille. 
That carried, Sedan was swept on all sides 
by the Prussian cannon. This point of van- 
tage was carried at 4:40. When carried, 
there could no longer be a shade of doubt as 
to the ultimate fate of Sedan. 

A BETBOSPECTIOK. 

THB FINAL BLOW AT SEDAN. 

The general headquarters of the army of 
the Crown Prince, and probably the bulk of 
his force, advanced no further than Bar-le- 
Duc, but Frederick William himself is re- 
ported to have slept at Chalons on the night 
of August 27, his advance being then at a 
point about ten miles further west, and 
eighty miles from Paris. But at that time 
the movement of MacMahon towards M6zi^res 
was fully developed, and the army of the 
Crown Prince was turned to the right to 
follow him up, while the detached portion of 
the Prussian army around Metz was pushed 
towards the northwest to intercept the 
French advance. As soon as MacMahon had 
collected his forces in the neighborhood of 
Rethel, he began a movement directly east 
towards Montmedy, and daily conflicts be- 
tween detached portions of the hostile armies 
occurred, with almost unvarying success oa 
the Prussian side-. By the 30th of August, 
the whole French army was fairly in motion 



in the direction of Montmedy, and on tha 
day there was a fierce encounter with tha 
Prussians at Beaumont, about fourteen miles 
west of Montmedy, in which the corps of 
General de Failly was severely handled. The 
French were driven to the northwest upon 
Sedan, where the conflict became genet al on 
the 31st of August, and continued into the 
let of September. On the last day of Au- 
gust, it would seem that the Prussians 
suffered severely, but when the final struggle 
came on Thursday, the Ist of September, 
they mustered 240,000 men, while MacMahon 
had at the outside not more than 120,000. 
Although severely wounded, he still retained 
the chief command, the German forces being 
under the immediate direction of General 
von Moltke, with the Crown Prince Freder- 
ick William of Prussia, and the Crown Prinoe 
Albert of Saxony next in command. The 
corps of the Prussian commander were posted 
to the left, those of the Saxon to the right 
of the French position. The plan of attack 
was to effect a junction between the two, 
and thereby enclose the enemy in a semi- 
circle. This object was fully accomplished 
by noon, and by 3 o'clock the battle had 
been transformed into a rout, with the 
French in full flight. 

THE CAFITTrLATIOir OF MACUAHON. 

Darkness put an end to the pursuit, and 
on the ensuing day, September 2, the Prus- 
sians prepared to assault Sedan, by which 
the French retreat was protected. But it 
was not necessary. At noon. General 
Wimpffen, who had succeeded the disabled 
hero of Magenta in command, left Sedan with 
a flag of truce, and at half past 1 o'clock the 
fortress and the remnants of MacMahon's 
army were formally and unconditionally 
surrendered. When MacMahon went into 
the engagement on the morning of Septem- 
tember Ist, he had under his command, as 
already stated, about 120,000 men. The 
number who were placed hora de combai 
during the fight it is impossible as yet to 
ascertain, and it is equally impossible to 
estimate with accuracy the number that 
became prisoners of war through the cere- 
mony of capitulation. The Independance 
Beige of Brussels places the number of 
French in Sedan at the time of its capitula- 
tion at 70,660, and states that on the 4th, 
1.5,000 more surrendered, while 30,000 took 
refuge upon the neutral soil of Belgium. 
But this much is certain, that the victory of 
Sedan, followed, as it was, by the capitula- 
tion of the entire French army, was one of 
the most brilliant on record. After all was 
over, the Crown Prince resumed his triumph- 
ant march on Paris. 

THE STJBBENDEB OF NAPOLEON. 

But it was accompanied by a circumstance 
which imparted to it additional lustre and 
importance. The Emperor Napoleon, after 
the vicissitudes narrated by us yesterday. 



1% 



THE FRANCO-GEEMAN WAR. 



had arrived at Sedan on the 27th of August. 
According to some reports, the Prince Impe- 
rial had preceded him thither, while ethers 
state that he made his escape into Belgium. 
General Wimpffen bore with him a letter to 
King William from the Emperor, of which 
two or three versions have been published, 
the Paris Gaulois giving the following as its 
exact text : — 

" Having no command in the army, and 
having placed all my authority in the hands 
of the Empress as regent, I herewith surren- 
der my sword to the King of Prussia." 

While, according to other reports, the 
document ran thus : — 

" As I cannot die at the head of my army, 
I lay my awdid at the feet of your Majesty." 

But he surrendered, and at an interview 
with King William, who had accompanied 
the army of the Crown Prince in its march 
to the north from the neighborhood of Bar- 
le-Duc, held immediately after the capitula- 
tion of MacMahon's army, Wilhelmshof, near 
Cassel, was assigned as the place of his resi- 
dence for the time being. He started with- 
out delay on his journey thither, by way of 
Liege, through Belgium, accompanied by a 
Buite of one hundred persons, and an armed 
Prussian escort. The Prince Imperial is on 
the way to join him, if he was not with him 
at the time of his surrender, and the presence 
of the ex-Empress will soon render the fallen 
Imperial family complete. 

Meanwhile Paris, which for nearly nine- 
teen years had been awed into subjection by 
the terror of his bayonets and the inspiration 
of his name, is revelling in shouts of " Vive 
la Republique !" and the only semblance of 
French authority in France is the Provis- 
ional Republic, which Favre, Gambetta, and 
Trochu have set up on the ruins of the 
Bonaparte throne. 

Such is the history of the conflict which 
General Prim precipitated upon Europe by 
proposing Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen, as a candidate for the throne 
of Spain. The ex-Emperor — we have al- 
ready become used to the expressive prefix — 
resented the scheme of Prim ostensibly " as 
a check and a menace to France," in reality 
as a defiance of his well-known hostility to 
what he had been pleased to term the 
aggrandizing spirit of Prussia. He sought 
to throw the entire responsibility for it upon 
the Prussian King ; and. not content with 
its abandonment, demanded a guarantee that 
no Prussian Prince would ever be suS'ered 
to ascend the throne of Charles V. This 
humiliating demand was rejected, and Napo- 
leon declared that he would enforce it at the 
pojnt of the sword. On the 28th of July, he 
affi-xed the magical name of Napoleon to a 
proclamation in which he assumed the chief 
command of an army of half a million of sol- 
diers, whom he proposed forthwith to lead 
On a triumphant march upon Berlin. On 
the 2d of September, only five weeks after- 
wards, he laid his sword at the feet of King 



William, and surrendered himself a ptisoner- 
of war. 

Thus ends the story of the Third Napoleon 
and the Second Empire. Unhappily the 
tribulations which they have bequeathed to 
France are, perchance, but just begun. 

THINGS IN AND AROUND PARIS. 

TREACHERY IN HI&H PLACES. 

You may like to know what is considered 
in Paris, by those best informed, to be the 
truth in relation to the stories with which 
the air is full concerning the treachery in 
high places that has been practised in 
Prance. It was understood, sometime ago, 
that Marshal Leboeuf had completely de- 
ceived the Emperor and the Corps Legis- 
latif in regard to the readiness of the country 
for war. " We are ready," he had said, " and 
by ' ready ' I mean that if the war were to 
last a year we should not have to buy as 
much as a button for a gaiter." This was 
bad enough ; but it now appears that the 
wife of the Marshal, who is a Prussian, ob- 
tained from her husband the full particulars 
of the plan of military operations which had 
been decided upon, and then found means to 
communicate this invaluable information to 
Bismarck^ and through him to Von Moltke. 
Thus, when the game of war began, the 
Prussians were in the condition of a player 
who knew all the cards in liis opponent's 
hand and exactly how he intended to play 
them. That success should follow an ad- 
vantage so great as this, was only what was 
to be expected. This, however, is not all. 
The Gaulois has made public what was whis- 
pered about Paris all last week — namely, 
that a mysterious prisoner was incarcerated 
at Vinceimes, whose identity was so care- 
fully concealed that the ordinary wardens of 
the fort were not allowed to see him. Opinion 
is divided as to whether this reproduction of 
the man in the iron mask is Leboeuf, Roche- 
fort, or the author of the false news published 
on the Bourse three weeks ago, and no Joseph 
or Daniel has arisen to interpret the mystery. 
But some arrests have been made of female 
spies, of whose identity there is no doubt. 
The first was no less a personage than 
Madame la Comtesse de Behague — " the 
luxurious syren who boasted of having the 
King of Prussia, the Prince, and the Grand 
Duke of Baden at her feet." 

ANOTHER SPY STORY. 

In a Strasbourg hotel some Algerian tirail- 
leurs, officers, soils officers, and privates were 
at breakfast, the first they had eaten in 
peace for a week. An intruder came in 
with many bows and begged permission to 
place himself at table, ofiering to pay his 
share. " You don't know me, but I am not 
quite a stranger to the great army family. 
Captain Brunet, Twenty-one ©f the line, is 
known to some of you, I dare say. He is 
my very dearest friend, almost my brother," 



2 < 

=• !2i 





THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



75 



Nobodf knew Captain Brunet, btit hi? name 
was a passport among soldiers. The stranger 
took his cotelette, and was chatting easily 
with his companions when an ofiBcer of the 
Twenty-first came in : " Parbleu 1 here is the 
very man to tell you all about your friend. 
Lieutenant, allow us to present a friend of 
one of yours; you know Captain Brunet?" 
" What Brunet ? " " Brunet of the Twenty, 
first." "No such man in our regiment since 
I joined it ten years ago." The stranger is 
confused. His lively tone is changed. Some 
Turcos asked the lieutenant: "Are you sure 
there was no such man as Captain Brunet?" 
"Just as sure as that you are standing 

there," "Why, then, he must be ," and 

they began to close round the stranger. 
"Monsieur is in my company," said the 
captain of tirailleurs, a solid man. " Go on 
with your breakfast, sir ; shall I hand you 
the cheese? Take some of this conserve." 
Coffee and chasse — breakfast was over. The 
big tirailleur called for the bill and paid. 
Taking the stranger's arm, he walked out- 
side on to the sidewalk, drew his revolver, 
and blew out the spy's brains 

THE FATE OF SPIES IN WAR. 

[ From the Jewish Leader. ] 

It is a deplorable fact that a good number 
of spies have up to this moment been era- 
ployed in the war which is now being car- 
ried on between the two great European Pow- 
ers. Those who carry out this treacherous 
system are severely punished when caught, 
for what is a spy else than a secret assassin, 
owing to whose paid treason targe masses of 
soldiers often perish, whereas they might 
have preserved their lives in honest, open 
combat ? 

If we read in the Scripture of spies, the 
mission with which they were entrusted is 
not, by any means, comparable or analogous 
with the functions performed by the treach- 
erous individuals of our times, above referred 
to. Yet it has been recorded that these spies 
were disagreeable to Moses, and he only con- 
sented to send out spies in order to tranquil- 
ize the turbulent and refractory people as to 
the condition of the country. Moses cannot 
have cared about the reports which these 
spies would bring him, as hia trust in God 
mus}, have rendered them a matter of indif- 
ference to him. 

The aim and object of Joshua in sending 
out the two spies to Jericho was equally to 
reanimate and encourage the dismayed hearts 
of Israel by favorable intelligence (thus we 
understand the comment of Kimchi). Also, 
the missions of the messengers to Ai (Joshua 
7) was only for the purpose of tranquillizing 
the people about the selection of no more 
than three thousand warriors for the expedi- 
tion against that city. That this expedition 
miscarried proves that it was not the inten- 
tion of Joshua to gather such information as 
could be favorable to him. 

The two messengers whom David sent otit 
to seek Saul (1 Samuel xxvi. 5) were no 



spies of whom David availed himself in or. 
der to do any harm to King Saul. In lik« 
manner the Meraglim of Absalom (2 Sam- 
uel XV. 1(1) were nothing but messengers to 
the different tribes. Even the raesaengers of 
the tribe of Dan to the house of Micah were 
not sent out as spies. 

FRENCH MILITART YANITT. 

The French papers call the attention of 
the military authorities to the excellent sys- 
tem adopted by the enemy in its reconnnis- 
sances.and say that while French commanders 
are nearly always taken by surprise, the Prus- 
sians are perfectly well-informed of the where- 
abouts of their adversaries. This is. in a 
great degree, owing to the vanity of the 
French officers, who think that they can af- 
ford to despise all information and every 
suggestion not coming from one of them- 
selves. Before Woerth, a captain on outpost 
duty was warned by the peasants that a, 
body of Uhlans were cutting the telegraph 
wires and destroying the railroad. His only 
answer was: What's that to me — Qii'e-st c« 
que ca me fait — we are not fighting with tha 
telegraph, are we ? 

It is very different on the other side ; there 
no piece of information is disregarded, and a 
detachment at once proceeds to investigate 
the truth of every report. The reconnois- 
sances are made by small bodies of picked 
horsemen under the command of a chief of 
intelligence, who can always find among hia 
troopers some one who has been born near 
the frontier, or whose trade previous to the 
war had brought him into relations witli the 
country and its inhabitants. With such a 
guide it is impossible to make mistakes, and 
as each scout is furnished with a colored 
print of the various uniforms in the French 
army, he is able to inform the authorities 
exactly what they wish to know. 

••THE SOLDIER'S PIPE." 

" RESPECTKDIiLT DEDICATED TO SMOKERS." 

It would be unjust, considering all the 
abuse levelled at tobacco-smokers, and how 
often they are solemnly told that tobacco 
destroys all their energies, not to admit that 
the success of the Germans in the present 
war is rather a feather in the smoker's cap. 
These misguided men seem to live on to- 
bacco ; The Uhlans, who in little parties of 
three or four trot gaily in advance and take 
possession of fortified towns, invariably carry 
pipes in their mouths. The Mayor of eacli 
town is directed to find cigars for everybody 
before anything else is done. The German 
troops, it is stated, think but little of a scar- 
city of provisions — they fight as well with- 
out their dinner as with it — but tobacco is 
indispensable to them. On the whole, we 
fear experience shows that a smoking army 
is capable of greater endurance and of mak- 
ing greater efforts than a non-smoking army. 
The gun without the pipe would be of .littli 
avail, nor can we bo much surprised at thit 



76 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



•when we reflect that the quantity of foul air 
■we are called upon to inhale in this world is 
probably far more injurious to health than 
the tobacco smoke, which, althoujjh it acts 
as an antidote to the poison of the atmos- 
phere, gets no thanks for its pains, but only 
reproachful language. 

ENGLAND AND TEANCE. 

M. LOUIS BLANC ON ENGLISH OPINION. 

Writing: to Le Temps, under date of Au- 
gust 23, M. Louis Blanc remarks : " In the 
critical circumstances in which we are placed 
it is necessary above all things that we 
should have courage to look on boldly into 
our position. To shut our eyes with indif- 
ference woiild be a crime. To be wanting in 
courage would be an opprobrium, but to 
nourish illusions would be almost an act of 
idiocy. In order to place ourselves in a po- 
sition to meet danger, the first condition is 
to comprehend its extent. It would, indeed, 
be a strange transformation of the French 
nation if it had lost its heroic habit of adapt- 
ing its energies to its perils. Those who 
might be disposed to veil the dangers in or- 
der to give heart to the nation, calumniate 
and outrage it. When we come to examine 
the picture of our position as it is presented 
by the more or less official journals which 
are publiehed in Paris, in contrast with that 
presented by the English press, a fear is 
aroused lest France should be ignorant of 
how seriously she is menaced, and how im- 
portant it is for her safety that she should 
again become her old self. The English do 
not know — and yet history exists to teach 
them — of what the great arm of France is 
capable, when they regard her condition as 
desperate. In the first place, nothing that 
bears an official French character obtains the 
slightest credence. Every telegram signed 
by the King of Prussia is accepted in Eng- 
land as an article of faith. Every telegram 
announcing that our army has gained a suc- 
cess is literally regarded as naught. When 
the conflicting doubts of the murderous bat- 
tle of the 16th were received here, we read 
upon the placards of the newspapers : ' Great 
victory of the Prussians. The French claim 
a victory.' In other words, the Prussians 
had conquered because they said so. As to 
the French, the probability was, that they 
were lyiug. For a Frenchman living in 
England is not this heart-breaking ? 'I'here 
is no one here that does not svappose that for 
Napoleon it is a question of life or death to 
conceal reverses which are the consequences 
of his imprudence, his incapacity, and his 
blind and foolish precipitation. There is no 
one who does not say : ' Every defeat sus- 
tained by those soldiers of France, whose al- 
most superhuman intrepidity seemed to do 
yiolence to victory, is a formidable accusa- 
tion directed against the Empire.* 

" It is necessary, therefore, that the black 
side af things should be concealed at any 
Aost. The safety of the Empire depends 



upon it, and the Emperor knows it. There 
lies in part the secret of the incredulity un- 
fortunately only too intelligible against 
which are powerless the most formal asser- 
tions of the authorized depositaries of power 
in France. They would be "believed if it 
could be imagined that they had no other 
anxiety than to save the country. They are 
not believed, because the anxiety to save the 
country is thought to be complicated with a 
desire to preserve the dynasty." 

HIS VIEW. 

Bismarck said, " We wish to retain the 
sympathy of the United States, and yet we 
find it gradually receding from us. now that 
France has been declared a Republic. It is 
but natural that a Republic so great as the 
United States of America should ?yrapathize 
with a younger one, but do not the people 
of those United States make a mistake in 
their impetuosity to be on ' the right side ?' 
We would wish to treat for peace, and with 
a proper representative for France would we 
do so, but we can never recognize a ' gutter 
Republic,' made up from the mob, and led 
by men whose ambitious aim is distinction 
and lucrative 'positions." 

SONG OF THE GERMAN SOLDIERS IN ALSACE. 

Air. — " ICH HATTE EINEN CaMERAD." 

In Alsace, over the Rhine, 
There lives a Brother of mine ; 

It grieves my soul ts say 

He hath forgot the day 
TVe were one laud and line. 

Dear Brother, torn apart. 

Is 't true that changed thou art? ' 

The French have clapped on thee 

Red breeches, as we see ; 
Have they Frenchified thy heart? 

Hai k I that's the Prussian drum, ' 

And it tells the tiine has come. 

We have made one " Germany," 
One " Dentschland." firm and free 

And our civil strifes are dumb. 

Thee also, fighting sore, 

Ankle-deep in Gormao gore. 

We have won. Ah, Bicther dear I 
Thou ait Ge'-man — dost thou hear ? 

Thoy shall never part us more. 

"Who made this song of mine? 
Two comrades by the Rhine; — i 

A Suabian man began it, 

And a Pdmeranian sang it, 
In Alsace on the Rhine. 



THE TERRIBLE UHLANS. 

Capt. Jeannerod, the correspondent of Le 
Temps, writing from M6ziferes-Charleville, 
after the battles at Metz, of the conduct of 
the German troops, says that the reports of 
the Prussian doings are necessarily much 
exaggerated, but that isolated acts of violence 
have occurred, to which the alarm felt is in 
some degree traceable. Here is an incident 
which he relates illustrative of these ex- 
aggerations : 

"A Prussian soldier was lying on the 
ground in a field ; a doctor, near at hand, 
bandaged his wounds, and, having finislied 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN "WAR. 



V 



was about to mount his horse, when a Uh- 
lan came up and shot him Ihroufi^h the nead 
with a pistol. Enormous as this seems it 
must be true, for everywhere 1 have heard 
tlie same story. One of my informants was 
an old dragoon of the Guard, one of the rare 
survivors of his regiment, which was anni- 
hilated in the battle of the 16th. ' We have 
been crushed,' he said, 'but each one of us 
hiul si ruck down three : and now, since they 
have fired upon the doctors, no more quar- 
ter ! 1 met one this morning, lost in a wood. 
He had thrown away his gun. crying, ' Friend, 
friend!' 'No friend,' 1 replied, and ran my 
sword through his body.' Some Chasseurs 
d'Afrique haVe also declared in my presence 
' No more quarter.' * * * Evidently the war 
between the two armies is assuming a charac- 
ter of fury and of extermination. * * * The 
Uhlan will deserve, after this war, to hold the 
«ame rank in the Prussian army as the Zou- 
ave does with us. 'The Uhlans are every- 
where,' said a young peasant to me. Mounted 
upon excellent horses, fovxr or five of them 
arrive in a village, and the whole canton 
knows that evening that the Prussians have 
arrived, though the corps d'armee may be l^ 
kilometres off. But that is unknown ; and 
hence the dread of firing upon these four or 
five Ulilans, lest, for a single enemy thus dis- 
patched, a whole commune might be put to 
fire and sword. So much for the terror pro- 
<]uced by Prussian arms ; but they also know 
how to caress the people. In the environs 
of Metz, nothing is spoken of but the Prus- 
sian organization, and the facility with which 
it adapts itself, for the moment, to the local 
customs of the country that is invaded. They 
have even gone so far as to promise to the 
employes of the Sarreguemines Railroad to 
niaiutuin them on their present footing, 
though this is very superior to the condition 
of similar employes in Rhenish Prussia. In 
the towns, small and large, wherever their 
conduct will be talked of, the same dexterous 
handling is shown. Half from policy, half 
from natural inclination, the conduct of the 
enemy in certain localities has left nothing 
to be complained of. As against the villages 
burnt on the hills of Gravelotte, other cases 
are cited where the inhabitants were quickly 
reassured. A young peasant girl said before 
me that it was very wrong to be frightened ; 
that the enemy had been very gentle and con- 
siderate, had taken nothing, but contented 
themselves with asking for what they wanted, 
and paying what was asked. And the peas- 
ant girl added one thing which was very sad, 
but which ought to be made known : ' Our 
own soldiers did a great deal more mischief.' " 

THE PKINCESS ALICE AT HOME. 

THE HOSPITAL AT DARMSTADT. 

A correspondent of The Pall Mall Gazette, 

"who visited the hospital for the wounded at 

Darmstadt, which is under the special charge 

■ of the Princess Alice, writes : " Certainly, 

' aothing can be more admirably managed; 



and of those I have seen as yet it is the 
brightest, airiest, and most cheerful. The 
principal building is a permanent one of 
stone and glass — an ex-conservatory. It 
stands in charming gardens, with their 
flower-beds, and shrubberies, and fountains, 
which, as the Princess says, the Frenchmen 
gallantly tell her remind them of the water- 
works of Versailles. Through these are 
scattered a number of succursales — wooden 
pavilions where the double rows of beds 
stand at ample intervals, with canvas doors 
at the ends, to be looped up at will, and with 
openings in the roof, protected from the wet, 
but open to the wind. The Princess says 
the French strongly protest against the fresh 
air, while the Germans, on the contrary, very 
sensibly welcome it as the best of specifics. 
She ought to be mistress of the inward senti- 
ments of the patients, for they all seem to 
take her into their inmost confidence. It 
was worth a journey from England alone to 
see the faces of the sufferers lighten up as 
they reflected the sisterly smiles on her. As 
she passed along and stopped and spoke to 
each, the invalid laid himself back on his pil- 
low with an expression of absolute bien ctre, 
and for the moment seemed to find something 
more than an anodyne for his pain. Her 
passing along the wards applied the most in- 
fallible of tests to the cases. If her presence 
did not smooth the pain-wrinkles out of a 
man's face, or bring something like tran- 
quillity to his drawn mouth, and cause a 
flash of light to his eye, you were quite sure 
to hear he was in an extremely bad way. 
Nor was it with the wounded alone she 
seemed the animating spirit of the place. 
Nurses and doctors and convalescents walk- 
ing about all addressed her with the same 
cordial familiarity — only tempered by their 
evident reverence and love. The truth is, 
and one sees it everywhere else as in Darm- 
stadt, this war has not merely made Germany 
a nation, but a li'mily, and a thorough fanjily 
feeling pervades North and South, high and 
low alike. Nothing seems regarded as a sac- 
rifice, and the humblest work that can serve 
the great national cause is regarded as a 
pleasure and honor. The theatre at May- 
ence is given over to preparations for the 
hospital service, and the ladies of the place, 
old and young, go to work day and night in 
batches and in gangs, in the coarsest ma- 
terials and roughest work. Here at Darm 
stadt no small portion of the Palace is 
devoted to the same purpose, and the work- 
rooms conmiunicate directly with the Prin- 
cess' apartments. There are piles of mat- 
tresses in the galleries, hills of blankets and 
cushions below, chests of lint, bundles of 
bandages, mountains of cushions, sandbags 
for absorbing blood, wooden receptacles for' 
shattered limbs. There is a continual influx 
and constant outflow of all that. This after- 
noon the Priiicess' phaeton had the back 
seat piled high with cushions wanted for im- 
mediate use — decently covered up, it is true, 
with a carriage rug; but there were so many 



78 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



of them that the rug was sheer hypocrisy 
and absurd illusion. A huge bundle of flan- 
nel seriously embarrassed the coachman's 
legs and style, while it says much for the 
paving of the Darmstadt streets that all the 
teapots stowed away in the sword case be- 
neath the ladies' seat reached their destina- 
tion in safety." 

LIFE IK CAMP. 

XEFORK MKT8 — HOW THE SOLDIERS IITH PBEPAK1N6 

▲ MEAL. 

A correspondent of The London Daily 
Telegraph writes from the camp before 
Metz : The principal occupation, or rather 
the serious business of the day, in camp, is 
the preparation for a meal of some sort. 
Directly you wake, human nature at once 
requires some sustenance ; you crave for a 
good hot cup of tea, especially if, as last 
night, you find yourself exposed to what 
Virgil calls a placidus irnber. The fact was 
that the wall at the back of my shelter gave 
way. and I found myself lying with my head 
outside, the gentle rain falling plentifully on 
my head and face. The dry sticks which 
you have taken to bed with you to keep dry 
are produced as soon as day breaks, and a 
hot tin of coffee, without sugar or milk, helps 
to pull you together. The business of the 
day then commences. A rush is made for 
the nearest " Marketender " wagon that has 
come up from Gorze. In the following of 
almost every regiment there is attached to 
each company an individual called a " Market- 
ender." Half soldier, half publican, and 
wholly thief, he is a curious mixture of cun- 
ning, courage, and dishonesty — terms. I am 
aware, that are strangely discordant, but] 
which are all represented in the character 
«f the Marketender. 

His duty is, with his wagon, covered with 
canvas and drawn by two wretched-looking 
horses, to rob, plunder, or buy provisions at 
any of the villages he passes through, and to 
sell the produce to the soldiers of the par- 
ticular company to which he is attached, 
the number of which is painted on his wagon 
and carried on his cap. Very often the Mar- 
ketender has his better-half to help him — a 
virago, who out-brazens the sins of her hus- 
band, bullies the soldiers, and cringes to the 
oBrcers. Mrs. Markelenderin is by no means 
an engagintr-looking person. The one I have 
to do with wears a costume sufficiently 
ludicrous, A French soldier's cap covert* 
her grizzled hair, the peak shading a face 
which, from exposure to the sun, looks like 
a piece of baaly tanned leather; a Volti- 
geur's jacket envelops her body, and a large 
red bandanna is wound round her waist, 
where she carries a huge knife, with which 
to cut the hard, black bread into the pieces 
she dispenses to the soldiers ; her arms and 
hands are brown-black, partly from ex- 
posure and partly from dirt, while, to com- 
plete her semi -military costame, the short- 
ness of her petticoat reveals her feet incased 



in a pair of long boots that have once beeA- 
the property of some Prussian soldier, whoso 
bones, in all probability, are now lying upon, 
the plateau of Gorze. They both dispense 
their commodities in eager haste, and are 
not particular as to the change they give for 
a thaler. The nppearance of the vivandiires 
since the invasion of French territory has 
wonderfully improved, no doubt at the ex-- 
pense of /a belle France, and the money, 
they are making will, without doubt, enable 
them to eat their " Kartoffelsalat " and drink . 
their "Zeltlnger" for the rest of their days- 
in peace and qiiietness on the banks of the 
Moselle, or wherever else they may please t&' 
settle down. If you are in favor, madame 
produces a piece of meat from the recesses- 
of the wagon, and perhaps an onion, a piece- 
of bread, and a glass of schnapps, for which 
you pay the moderate sum of one thaler. 
With these valuables you rush off to your 
shelter, wherever it may be, and, if the raiiv 
has not put your fire out, you improvise a 
meal, which, if not very reeherchd, at least 
fills your stomach. I was asked by the 
General to-day why I did not go and live in 
Gorze, like the other Engli^men ? My an. 
swer was, simply, that I depended for infor- 
mation upon my own eyes, and not upon 
the retailed news of others. This seemed 
to amuse him vastly, and he patted me on 
the back, and answered, " Thank God I there 
are, then, some who will tell the truth as 
they see it, and not invent a parcel of liea."^ 
This was not very flattering to my brother 
correspondents. The band is really the lux- - 
ury of the day. It plays in the afternoon,, 
and the delicious airs of Beethoven, Mozart,., 
and Meyerbeer transport one in imagination. i 
far from the surrounding scenes, 

STBASBOUBO AND FABIS. 

A GERMAN UILITART WRITER ON THEIR POWERS Or" 
RESISTANCE. 

The following extract from a letter of the 
well-known military writer, Julius Von Wic- 
kede, has a special interest in connection > 
with the news from Strasbourg and Paris : 

We are now besieging and bombarding 
Strasbourg and Metz, beyond all doubt the 
two strongest fortresses of France. These 
immense strongholds have menaced the 
peace and security of Germany, particularly 
the former, and it is, therefore, deemed of 
the highest importance that they should be 
captured and remain in our permanent pos- 
session. A fair number of heavy siege-guns 
have already arrived before Strasbourg. The 
Prussian 24-pounders are excellent and very 
effective ; they have a wide range, and as 
soon as the distance has been correctly as- 
certained (which is generally the case after 
two or three trial shots), their fire is as ac- 
curate and telling as can be reasonably de- 
sired. In regard to Strasbourg, it would not 
be wise to calculate upon an immediate 
capitulation. General Uhlrich, the com- 
mander of the fortress, was formerly in the 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



79 



Imperial Guard, and is an officer of the 
higiiest military ability, one who will do his 
daty to the last, and without any particular 
regard for the inhabitants of the city he is 
called upon to defend. I became personally 
acquainted with him at Varna, during tlie 
Crimean war, when we passed our leisure 
time in conversing about military matters, 
drinking a glass of light Brussa wine, and 
playing a game of dominoes. I remember 
well enough that we repeatedly touched on 
the possibility ef our confronting each other 
as enemies. The brave general did not then 
imagine that the strongest army which the 
Second Empire could bring into the Geld 
would be repeatedly beaten by us within a 
fortnight, and that we could so soon com* 
mence the siege of the two most important 
French fortresses. The idea that the Ger- 
mans would carry the war into French terri- 
tory seemed too preposterous to the French, 
who thought it an easy task to drive the 
Prussians beyond the Rhine, and never ex- 
pected to meet any serious resistance until 
they would reach Hayence and Goblentz. 
All their preparations show that this was 
their preconceived plan. 

But to return to the siege of Strasbourg. 
Although the commander is a man of un- 
doubted talent, energy, and bravery, and 
although the garrison is composed of select 
troops, who will fight and defend the city to 
the last, I do not believe this fortress will 
prove another Sebastopol. The numerous 
population of the city, amounting to more 
than 80,000 inhabitants, will be a serious 
check to the powers of resistance and en- 
durance of the garrison, and will necessitate 
a speedier capitulation than could otherwise 
be anticipated. It is more than probable 
that our repeatedly expressed opinion that 
large and populous cities are not fit places 
for fortresses will obtain additional confirma- 
tion ere long. The principal objection, 



against them is the difficulty, or rather im- 
possibility, of provisioning them for a long 
siege. Of what ose are Uie strongest walla 
and a great number of guns, when once 
famine, with its appalling consequences, 
spreads among a population ef 80,000 souls Y 
ard how can the most energetic commander 

Srevent it, and protect his army against its 
emoralizing influence ? It is utterly impos- 
sible. 

We have read many reports about the 
immense fortifications around Paris, and 
had an occasion to examine these strong- 
holds a few years ago, and we readily con- 
fess that they are formidable, and were so 
previous to the numerous additions and im- 

Srovements which have recently been made, 
^ut what of that? If what we have said 
above holds good with a city of 80,000 peo- 
pie, how much more so in regard to a capital 
of nearly 2.000.000 inhabitants, and com- 
posed of such dangerous and heterogeneous 
elements as the population of Paris 7 Some 
of the Paris newspapers conttun an account 
of the quantities of provisions which are 
said to be stored in that city, and pretend 
that the place is fully prepared for a siege of 
four months. We feel inclined to think that 
the figures on paper will not correspond 
with the amount of stores actually on hand, 
and we should not be at all surprised to find 
these statements equal in exaggeration and 
want of truth to the reports circulated about 
the strength of the French army, its arma- 
ment, equipment, and fitness for field ser- 
vice. We think that by the time the three 
immense columns of the German army shall 
appear before Paris, all the braggadocio 
about the defence of that city to the last will 
have been silenced by sounder counsel and 
cooler judgment. It would be the climax 
of madness to attempt a defence of Paris 
under the existing circumstances. 



THE END 








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THE 



FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



VOLUME SECOND. COMPLETE. 



EMBRACINa 



THE MIL OF TOUL, STRASBOURG AND METZ; 



GOING 



INTO ALL THE EEMARKABLE DETAILS, DESCRIBING 

THE SKIRMISHES, BATTLES, AND GIVING NU- 

MEROUS INTERESTING AND THRILLING 

ANECDOTES INCIDENTAL TO THE 

GREAT WAR; AND FINALLY 



THE SIEGE AND FALL OF PARIS: 



THUS MAKING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR. 



EDITED BY 

PROFESSOR THEO. VON MARCKES. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J»UBLISHED BY BARCLAY & CO., 

No. 21 North Seventh Street. 
187L 



Entered, according to 4-ct of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

BARCLAY & CO., 

Tja the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C 



The Franco-German War. 

SECOND VOLUME. 



STRASBOURG AND TOUL. 

On Tuesday, September 20th, 1870, Lu- 
nette No. 53, before the walls of Strasbourg, 
was taken by the Landwehr, notwithstanding 
a gallant defence, consisting mostly of a pro- 
longed and sharp rifle fire. General Werder 
then threatened to utterly destroy the city 
of Strasboui'g unless immediately surren- 
dered. 

The prolonged and valiant defence of 
Strasboiirg must be recorded in history as an 
event not surpassed by that of any city in 
the world, and such a defence as has seldom 
been equalled in the history of wars. About 
this time, M. Favre made desperate diplo- 
matic attempts toward establishing peace, 
and was favorably received at the King's 
headquarters, but, as we have seen, to no ef- 
fect. During these negotiations, 

THE SITUATION OF PARIS 

was quiet and dull. Some skirmishing in the 
suburbs, and quite an activity existed among 
the red republicans, who continued to pla- 
card the city with handbills announcing a 
new government. 

Trouble was anticipated, as the citizens 
preferred Prussian rule to communism. The 
Opinion NaUonale acknowledged the receipt 
of 20.000 francs from A. T. Stewart, the w.ell 
known dry goods merchant of New York 
City. 

THE BELEAGUERED CITIES. 

Up to the 14th of September, the fire 
continued without intermission, and Stras- 
bourg was looked upon as the forlorn hope. 
The walls, were reduced to shapeless masses. 
The citadel had been subjected to an inces- 
sant fire from the sides, and its principal 
gate destroyed. New batteries were opened 
daily, and 400 guns had been brought into 
position by the Prussians. 

The garrison fire was weak and sometimes 
ceased entirely for hours, no efforts being 
made to repair damaged outworks. Despe- 
rate attempts were made to carry amunition 
into the city, and boats attempting it were 
frequently captured. That morning an un- 
dergroond telegraph was detected by the 



Prussians, which connected Strasbourg with 
Col mar. Typhus and dysentery appeared 
among the Prussians, and it was feared 
would become epidemic. It was now evident 
that Uhlrich was becoming very much dis- 
couraged, his resistance daily growing fee- 
bler, and an early surrender was expected. 
There were in position before Strasbourg 
eighteen batteries of mortars and rifled can- 
non. These fired, collectively, more than 
7.000 shots into the city daily. Besides this 
there were thirty car loads of munitions of 
war including 8,000 quintals of iron, which 
were daily consumed. How immense, in 
comparison, must have been the expense of; 
besieging Paris. , 

It is certainly by one of the most curious 
accidents in history, that 1,000 years ago, in 
870, similar events took place in France to 
those which were lately enacted on the same 
soil. At the treaty of Verdun (843), the 
three sons of the Frankish Emperor, Ludwig 
I., divided the whole dominions of tneir 
grandfather, Charlemagne, among them- 
selves. 

1. Lothar received Italy and the Middle 
Franconia, beside the Imperial title. Middle 
Franconia was that long tract of land which, 
reached from the German Ocean to the 
Mediterranean, and which was bounded on 
the east by the Rhine and the Alps, and 
westward by the Escant (Schelde), Meuse, 
Saone, and Rhone rivers. 

2. Louis received East Franconia, since 
called Germany (Deutschland). 

3. Charles, surnamed the Bald, received 
West Franconia, now France. 

This first Regent of France distinguished 
himself by his great love of conquest. He 
thought that he saw his opportuninity at the 
death of his brother Lothar. Roman Empe- 
ror. The latter, following the example of 
his father, had divided his empire among his 
three sons, giving to the eldest son Ludwig, 
Italy, with the Imperial crown; to the 
second, Lothar, the northern part of Mid- 
dle Franconia. as far as the Saone; this 
country was »hen called Lotharingen (Lor- 
raine). The youngest son, Charles, was to 
receive the southern part of Middle Franco- 
nia, extending from the Saone to the Medi< 

i 83 



84 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



terranean. The country was made the kiilg- 
dom of Provence. 

The endeavors of Charles the Bald to an- 
nex these two countries did not succeed 
before the death of Lothar, who had already 
reunited both parts of Middle Franconia, his 
brother Charles having died before him. At 
that time, 868, the Roman Emperor, brother 
of Lothai, and Charles, being fully occupied 
within their own countries, the King of 
France took forcible possession of both Lor- 
raine and Provence, which he held till, Louis 
of Germany, in the year 870, 1,000 years ago, 
appeared in those parts at the head of his 
German array, and was at once so success- 
ful that Charles offered peace. In the same 
year the treaty of Mersen was made, in 
which Charles had to surrender to Louis the 
eastern part of the countries he had taken 
possession of. Afterward, Alsace, Lorraine, 
and the Territories of Treves, Aix la 
Chapelle, Cologne, Mastricht, and Utrecht, as 
far as the mouth of the Rhine, formed a part 
of Germany, and soon after received the dig- 
nity of the Roman Emperors. 

Was there ever a more singular coinci- 
dence of events in the history of the world ? 

The following letter from Dr. Adolph Kess- 
ler, of New York, explains itself: 

Sir : The acquisition of Elsass and Lothrin- 
gen merely as the legitimate fruit of Ger- 
many's victories over France were, perhaps, 
not strictly justifiable, and certainly not in 
harmony with the enlightened sentiment of 
the nineteenth century. Nor is it to be sup- 
posed that the Germans are anxious to an- 
nex French territory and French population, 
and to introduce into their country a foreign 
and discontented element of weakness and 
disintegration. Germany, instead of being 
aggressive, has for centuries past been una- 
ble to hold her own, and piece after piece was 
torn from her fair body by her neighbors — 
by Sweden, by Russia, and by France. But 
what relations do Elsass and Lothringen bear 
to Germany, and what has been the attitude 
of France toward Germany since time im- 
memorial ? In the peace that is now dawn- 
ing upon Europe — a peace, as I trust, never 
to be broken by the arbitrary dictates of 
princes and the conquering lust of nations — 
two great countries are to settle their old 
diflSculties, and to establish concord and har- 
mony upon an enduring basis. Self-defence 
— that first and foremost of necessities — and 
historic justice alike demand that Germany 
should claim what is hers, and what France 
in the period of her might and glory, in the 
period of German weakness and humiUation, 
took without a shadow of right and justice. 
Does the impartial student of history re- 
member the acts of trejachery and perfidy 
perpetrated by Louis XIV., and the brutal 
acts of violence committed by his servile 
minions against weak, distracted, and help- 
less Germany? The Bishoprics of Metz, 
Toul and Verdun, the Sundgan and Elsass, 
the free cities of Strasbourg, Colmar, Brei- 
sach, etc.; the baiUwick of Hagenau and' 



many other German districts, were 'forcibly 
seized, torn from the Fatherland, and incor- 
porated with France. Brute force, iinre- 
deemed by a ray of conscience and "morality, 
dictated the conquering policy of Louis XIV. 
His ministers and generals, reared in syco- 
phancy and profligacy, inured to treachery, 
depravity, and cruelty, blindly executed the 
behests of their master. (Who does not be- 
hold in that history the coimterpart of the 
Second Empire ?) The Gallic legions, led by 
such monsters as Monclas, devastated Fran- 
conia and Suabia, burned and pillaged innu- 
merable towns and villages, massacred de- 
fenceless women and children, and converted 
the beautiful, fertile Palatinate into a desert, 
coming suddenly while Germany was wholly 
unprepared, and in the midst of profound 
peace. Louvois, the French Prime Minister, 
had vowed to carry desolation and terror 
into the very heart of Germany, in order to 
stifle forever her longings after the lost pos- 
sessions; and to that end a horrible desert 
should be the border land between France 
and Germany. Oh, how every true German's 
heart bleeds at the thought of his country's 
shame, humiliation, and degradation when 
under Louis XIV. French gold and machina- 
tions corrupted its princes, when French 
treachery sowed broadcast throughout the 
land strife and disseasion, and when French 
arms wrested from it the fairest territories ! 
France was determined to exterminate Ger- 
many, whose strength and resources had 
been utterly consumed by the fratricidal re- 
ligious war of thirty years ; and only the na- 
tive recuperative power of the Teuiorrie race 
saved her from destruction and annihilation. 
French aggression and spoliation, however, 
ceased not with Louis XIV; his successor 
robbed Germany of the duchies of Lothrin- 
gen and Bar, and the successor of the Bour- 
bons, the first Cassar, incorporated with 
France by one of his omnipotent decrees the 
fair Rhinelands. When Napoleon's star 
had faded and his empire though cemented 
by blood and treachery had vanished, when ■ 
the powers of Europe were deliberating 
upon a permanent and lasting peace, the 
Ambassadors of Prussia demanded in elo- 
quent and impetuous words the restoration 
of the German Elsass and Lothringen, but 
the appeals of Louis XVIII. to the senti- 
mentalism and chivalry of Alexander of 
Russia and the perfidious intrigues of Talley- 
rand and Metternich, defeated the German 
demands for justice, and France remained in 
possession of her Teutonic conquests. Ger- 
many yielded, but France was unsatisfied. 
Under the Bourbons, Orleans and Bona- 
partes, she strove to extend her empire to 
the Rhine. The leading idea of her foreign 
policy was the regulation of the "natural 
frontiers," and her rulers and statesmen, 
her parliament and press, her citizens and 
soldiers, all united in their clamor for readjust- 
ing the map of Europe, and for showering 
upon a large portion of Germany the bless- 
ings of Za belle France and la grande nation. 



/ 



/ 







MISS ROSE CARNIER AND SISTER, WHILE ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE FROM 
PARIS IN A BALLOON, MEET WITH A FRiaHTFULL FALL THEREFROM. 

SJlif SRofe Sarnier itnt) ©(^jweficr, wcld)c Ui tern 95crfu(!^c, flu« ^axii in 
cincm Sufttatfon $u entflie^cn, flu« temfetkn fturstcn. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



85 



'"Withont shame and scniple the French 
■claimed the German Rhineland as if it were 
their own by birthright; and the voice of 
reason, justice and conscience was drowned 
throughout France by the national passion 
and frenzy for additional German territory. 
The present war with its shallow, miserable 
pretext had no other motive; a weak, disunit- 
ed Germany could easily be encroached upon 
and robbed. The divisions and dissensions 
of (iermany had for centuries served as the 
strength of and the opportunity for France, 
while united Germany had ever vanquished 
her Gallic foe. All her historic battle-fields 
prove but this truth. Napoleon III. and 
France in pursuing the old policy of Louis 
XIV. and the first Caesar, had in view the 
destruction of German unity and the ulti- 
mate conci^uest of the Rhineland. 

Those are mistaken who consider this war 
on the part of Germany a war of William 
and Bismarck against the Napoleonic dy- 
nasty ; it is a war of ft-eedom in the truest 
sense of the word. It is a war for the asser- 
tion of German honor, liberty, independence 
j-ustice, and morality, against French inso- 
lence, dictation, aggression, .and spoliation* 
1 am positive my individual feelings are in 
these respects in full accord with those of 
the entire German nation. The French have 
sown the seed of national hatred, and are 
now reaping the harvest. They have humil- 
iated and taunted us until German patience 
and forbearance could endure it no longer. 
Has not (Germany borne and suffered enough 
for more than 200 years 7 And now that the 
hour of triumph has come, the hour of set- 
tlement for unspeakable aggressions and 
taunts, and spoliations, will Europe demand 
of us as the conclusion a miserable com- 
promise and a foul peace ? With the internal 
affairs and the form of government of France, 
Germany has nothing to do ; and I afBrrn 
that Germany's rulers and statesmen will 
iiot interfere in that direction, but respect the 
sovereign will of the French people. I 
predict, however, that no enduring peace 
between 'the two nations can and will be 
• possible ; that no peace will be made until 
France has surrendered to Germaay every 
inch of soil that is hers by right. 

The German people demand a surer pledge 
and a safer guarantee for the future than 
diplomatic negotiations and treaties on paper. 
They demand the restoration of the ancient 
bulwark against France ; the restoration of 
Elsass and Lothringen, with the natural 
frontiers of the Vogesen Mountains. They 
demand only their own, and what was theirs 
for many centuries. They demand back 
their German land, their German brothers, 
and their (ierman works of art and architec- 
ture. Is their demand unreasonable or un- 
just? [f there be any historic justice, if 
eternal morality and right be higher than 
the political considerations and expedients 
of the day, if truth and honesty appeal with 
greater force to the heart of men tlian paa- 
•sioa and predjudice, the impartial and en- 



lightened verdict of mankind will be in favor 
of my native land. Time does not legalize 
Iheft nor sanction crime, and just as the 
couunon law restores to the heir property 
wrongly taken from the ancestor, so are the 
Germans justified in avenging the humilia- 
tion and spoliation of their forefathers, and 
in recovering what rightfully belongs to their 
country. Self-protection and the highest 
political interests demand that Elsass and 
Lothringen become again integral parts of 
Germany. The heart of the nation in one 
universal pulsation strives and longs after 
the fulfilment of this beautiful hope, the first 
glorious work of United Germany. German 
unity were indeed incomplete with the tri- 
color of France floating over Elsass and 
Lothringen. 'i'he free, United States of Ger- 
many can as Httle become the cradle of 
Caesarism, or a standing menace to the peace 
and liberty of Europe, as the United States 
of America to the Western World. With 
Germany victorious, peace and progress 
must forever reign in Europe. 

Dr. Adolph Kessler. 
New York, Sept. 4, 1870. 

STRASBOUEG AND PARIS. 

A GERMAN MILITARY WRITER ON THEIR POWERS 
OF RESISTANCE. 

The following extract from a letter of the 
well-known military writer, Julius Von 
Wickede, has a special interest in connection 
with Strasbourg and Paris as regards their 
relative power of resistance : 

We are now besieging and bombarding 
Strasbourg and Metz, beyond all doubt the 
two strongest fortresses of France. These 
immense strongholds have menaced the 
peace and security of Germany, particularly 
the former, and it is therefore deemed of the 
highest importance that they should be cap- 
tured and remain in our permanent posses- 
sion. A fair number of heavy siege-guns 
have already arrived before Strasbourg. 
The Prussian 24-poimder3 are excellent and 
very effective ; they have a wide range, and 
as soon as the distance has been correctly 
ascertained (which is generally the case after 
two or three trial shots), their fire is as accu- 
rate and telling as can be reasonably desired. 
In regard to Strasbourg, it would not be 
wise to calculate upon an immediate capitu- 
lation. General Uhlrich, the commander of 
the fortress, was formerly in the Imperial 
Guard, and is an ofiScer of the highest mili- 
tary ability, one who will do his duty to the 
last, and without any particular regard for 
the inhabitants of the city he is called 
upon to defend. I became personally ac- 
quainted with him at Varna, during the 
Crimean war, when we passed our leisure 
time in conversing .about military mat- 
ters, drinking a glass of light Brussa 
wine, and playing a game of dominoes. I 
remember well enough that we repeatedly 
touched on the possibility of our confront- 
ing each other as enemies. The brave gene- 



S6 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



xal did not then imagine that the strongest 
army which the Second Empire could bring 
into the field would be repeatedly beaten by 
«3 within a fortnight, and that we could so 
soon commence the siege of the two most 
important French fortresses. The idea that 
the Germans would carry the war into 
French territory seemed too preposterous to 
the French, who thought it an easy task to 
drive the Prussians beyond the Rhine, and 
never expected to meet any serious resist- 
ance until they would reach Mayence and 
Coblentz. All their preparations show that 
this was their preconceived plan. 

But to return to the siege of Strasbourg. 
Although the commander is a man of un- 
doubted talent, energy, and bravery, and 
although the garrison is composed of select 
trosps, who will fight and defend the city to 
the last, I do not believe this fortress will 
prove another Sebastopol. The numerous 
population of the city, amounting to more 
than 80,000 inhabitants, will be a serious 
check to the powers of resistance and en- 
durance of the garrison, and will necessitate 
a speedier capitulation than could otherwise 
he anticipated. It is more than probable 
that our repeatedly expressed opinion that 
large and populous cities are not fit places 
for fortresses, will obtain additional confirma- 
tion ere long. The principal objection 
against them is the diflBculty, or rather im- 
possibility, of provisioning them for a long 
siege. Of what use are the strongest walls 
and a great number of guns, when once 
famine, with its appalling consequences, 
spreads among a population of 80,000 souls ? 
and how can the most energetic commander 
prevent it, and protect his army against its 
demoralizing influence? It is utterly im- 
possible. 

We have read many reports aboiit the 
immense fortifications around Paris, and 
had an occasion to examine these strong- 
holds a few years ago; and we readily con- 
fess that they are formidable, and were so 
previous to the numerous additions and 
improvements which have recently been 
made. But what of that ? If what we have 
said above holds good with a city of 80,000 
people, how much more so in regard to a 
capital of nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants, and 
composed of such dangerous and heterogene- 
ous elements as the population of Paris? 
Some of the Paris newspapers contain an 
account of the quantities of provisions which 
are said to be stored in that city, and pre- 
tend that the place is fully prepared for a 
siege of four months. We feel inclined to 
think that the figures on paper will not cor- 
respond with the amount of stores actually 
on hand, and we should not be at all sur- 
prised to find these statements equal in 
exaggeration and want of truth to the re- 
ports circulated about the strength of the 
French army, its armament, equipment, and 
fitness for field service. We think that by 
the time the three immense columns of the 
Oerman army shall appear before Paris, all 



the braggadocio about the defence of that 
city to the last will have been silenced by 
sounder counsel and cooler judgment. It 
would be the climax of madness to attempt 
a defence of Paris under the existing cir- 
cumstances. 

THE TEEEIBLE XIHLANS. 

Captain Jeannerod, the correspondent of 
Le Temps, writing from M§ziferes Charleville, 
after the battles at Metz. of the conduct of 
the German troops, says that the rpports of 
the Prussian doings are necessarily much 
exaggerated, but that isolated acts of violence 
have occurred, to which the alarm felt is in 
some degree traceable. Here is an incident 
which he relates illustrative of these ex- 
aggerations : 

"A Prussian soldier was Ijnng on the 
ground in a field ; a doctor, near at hand, 
bandaged his wounds, and, having finished, 
was about to mount his horse, when a Uhlau 
came up and shot him through the head with 
a pistol. Enormous as this seems, it must 
be true, for everywhere I have heard the 
same story. One of my informants was an 
old dragoon of the Guard, one of the rare 
survivors of his regiment, which was annihi- 
lated in the battle of the 16th. ' We have 
been crushed,' he said, ' but each one of us 
had struck down three ; and now, since they 
have fired upon the doctors, no more quar- 
ter 1 I met one this morning, lost in a wood. 
He had thrown away his gun, crying, ' Friend, 
friend I' ' No friend,' I replied, and ran my 
sword through his body.' Some Chasseurs 
d'Afrique have also declared in my presence, 
*No more quarter.' * * * Evidently the war 
between the two armies is assuming a char- 
acter of fur}' and of extermination. * * * 
The Uhlan will deserve, after this war, to 
hold the same rank in the Prussian army as 
the Zouave does with us. ♦ The Uhlans are 
everywhere,' said a yoimg peasant to me. 
Mounted upon excellent horses, four or five 
of them arrive in a village, and the whole 
canton knows that evening that the Prus- 
sians have arrived,'though the corps- d'armee 
.may be fifteen kilometers ofl: But that is ■ 
unknown ; and hence the dread of firing upon 
these four or five Uhlans, lest, for a single 
enemy thus dispatched, a whole commune 
might be put to fire and sword. So much 
fur the terror produced by Prussian arms ; 
but they also know how to caress the people. 
In the environs of Metz, nothing is spoken 
of but the Prussian organization, and the 
facility with which it adapts itself, for the 
moment, to the local customs of the country 
that is invaded. They have even gone so 
far as to promise to the employes of the 
Sarreguemines Railroad to maintain them on 
their present footing, though this is very 
superior to the condition of similar employes 
in Rhenish Prussia. In the towns, small and 
large, wherever their conduct will be talked 
of, the same dexterous handling is shown. 
Half from policy, half from natural inclina- 
tion, the conduct of the enemy in certain 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



87 



H Alities has left nothing to be complained 
i»f. As ajjainst tho villages burnt on the 
ftills of Gravelottc, other cases are cited 
where the inhabitants were quickly reassured. 
A young peasant girl said before me that it 
was very wrong to be frightened; that the 
epemy had been very gentle and considerate, 
had taken notliing, but contented themselves 
with asking for what they wanted, and pay- 
ing what was asked. And the peasant girl 
added one thing which was very sad, but 
which ought to be made known : ' Our own 
soldiers did a great deal more mischief.' " 

CONFLICTING REPORTS. 

The difference in the way in which a story 
can be told is curiowsly illustrated in the 
contrast of the narrations of the same facts 
coming over the cable from either side in 
the present war. The Prussian accounts 
told of a shell thrown by one of their little 
corvettes upon the deck of a French iron-clad 
near Dantzic. The French account described 
how nearly one of their iron-clads came to 
being sunk by a torpedo which the Prussians 
attached to her. The immense numbers 
of Prussians killed by the explosion at 
Laon, according to French newspapers, is 
marvellously diminished in Prussian state- 
ments. " Eight to ten thousand " was the 
number which French accounts gave for 
the besiegers who perished in the sallies 
made by the garrison of Strasbourg ; one 
hundred and fifty men during the entire 
fortnight is all the loss the Prussians admit. 
It is possible to explain differences in sea- 
going stories, but are all the besieged cities 
of France, as well as the forts of Paris, 
manned by marines ? 

FALL OF TOUL AND STRASBOURG. 

On the 19th an encounter had also taken 
place at Essones, near Orleans, in which an 
inferior German force was worsted while 
endeavoring to sever the railway connections 
of Paris with the south. The small comfort 
derived from this was, however, dispelled by 
the fall of Toul, an important fortress a few 
miles west of Nancy. The garrison made a 
stout resistance, but succumbed on the 23d, 
,the Germans capturing nearly 2,500 prisoners 
and 245 cannon. The fall of Toul enabled 
them to complete their railway communica- 
tions with the east by the most direct and 
desirable route. This was accomplished on 
the 26th. On the 27th another terrible blow 
was dealt the French in 

THE CAPTURE OF STRASBOURG, 

by which 451 officers and 17,000 men were 
taken prisoners and the key to the ancient 
province of Alsace placed in German hands. 
The investment of Strasbourg had been 
commenced on the 10th of August, immedi- 
ately after the battle of Woerth, with a force 
of 30,000 men under the command of the 
Grand Duke of Baden. The besieging force 
was soon increased to 60,000 or 70,000, 



mostly South German troops, under General 
Von Werder, and on the 19th of August the 
bombardment was opened, to be kept up 
steadily until General Uhlrich, the French 
commander, was persuaded to put an end to 
the sufferings of the inhabitants by surrend- 
ering just as an assault in force was about to 
be made. 

"AFTER STRASBOURG, WHAT NEXT 1 " 

The capture of Strasbourg by the Prussians 
was regarded by many as the grand turning 
point in the Avar, but that those people so 
thinking were mistaken everybody knows. 

Never before in the history of France has 
such indomitable courage been shown by her 
people upon the battle field. 

From the commencement of the war, 
France has met at almost every turn, a suc- 
cession of defeat which might well discourage 
any country. 

And never before, in the history of Germany, 
has her subjects displayed such warlike pro- 
pensities, and " go-a-head-itiveness," in fact 
we may well say, they were equally matched, 
with the exception indeed, that to France 
has fallen a larger share of traitors than to 
her more successful opponent. 

France has lost her best army, consisting 
of veterans well used to scenes like those 
through which the country has passed. 

At the very next blow still another is 
swept from her. 

And yet during the late rebellion in the 
United States of America, how many great 
armies on both sides were annihilated; how 
many great generals killed, wounded, or re- 
moved, through political policy, or military 
incapacity ? Still the great struggle between 
north and south went on. Those upon this 
side of the ocean knew not how much to 
credit, or to disbelieve. Reports and " official 
documents " were extremely conflicting in 
their relative positions, and men knew not 
what to think of it, and were obliged to con- 
tent themselves with the somewhat uncom- 
forting conviction, that "time, alone, would 
tell." 

After the cessation of hostilities in and 
around Strasbourg, the victorious Prussians 
naturally turned their thoughts toward Metz 
as the next important step towards the sub- 
jugation of France, and removal of an obsta- 
cle on the road to Paris, 

Up to the nth of September, 1870, the 
eastern railway was still open to Nogelet, 
but the Prussians were at Chateau-Thierry ,^ 
advancing on La Fert6 sous Jouarre. The 
rolling stock of the road was removed as the 
enemy advanced, and the bridges, culverts, 
etc., were destroyed before the track was 
abandoned. 'I'here were, at this time, five 
corps de armee marching on Paris. The 
citadel of Laon was surrendered to save the 
city from destruction, and the Prussians siib- 
sequently blew up the fortifications. Mean- 
while the garrison at Toul still held out. and 
during the week made several very effective 
sorties. Marshal Bazaine did not remain in- 



88 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



active. He was constantly sending out ex- 
peditions to harass the Germans before 
Metz. But no amount of courage could save 
the city, for great sickness in the ranks and 
among the citizens, with not even food 
enough to supply half the demand, what re- 
sistence could, Metz make against her more 
fortunate opponents ? So, after a hopeless 
but gallant defence, Metz fell ; and now we 
shall relate » 

HOW METZ FELL. 

STOEY OP THE SURRENDER — ARRANGING THE TERMS — 
SURRENDER OP THE ARMY — BAZAINe'S INTRIGUES 
— CAUSE CP HIGH PRICES — THE DEATH LIST — OPPO- 
SITION TO THE CAPITULATION — BAZAINE MOBBED BY 
WOMEN. 

On the evening of the 25th of October, the 
GermanOhief of Staff had left Frascati (about 
five miles south-west of Metz) very much dis- 
couraged, scarcely hoping for any agreement, 
as the French appeared to.be intractable and 
obstinate. Nevertheless it was known from 
private sources that Metz could not hold out, 
and a capitulation was expected. 

THE PEELIMIlTAEy CONFERENCES. 

At noon Bazaine sent the Prince an auto- 
graph letter asking another conference ; and 
accordingly the Germans sent Gen. Stiehle, 
Chief of Staff of the Second Army, and Count 
Wartensleben, Chief of Staff of the First 
Army, to Frascati onae more. . The inter- 
view lasted three hours of the afternoon. At 
first it was stormy on the part of the French 
commissioners ; but it resulted in their con- 
version to the main points of the German 
terms. The first difficulty was concerning 
officers keeping their side-arms, on which 
Bazaine insisted. The point was finally re- 
ferred to the King, and conceded by him in 
8i dispatch received at 3 o'clock on the morn- 
ing of the 27th. 

TEEMS OF SITEEENDEE. 

By agreement the conference was resumed 
early the same morning (27th), and lasted till 
8 o'clock in the evening, when the capitula- 
tion was signed for the absolute rendition of 
Metz and all its fortifications, armaments, 
stores, and munitions ; and for the surrender 
on the conditions of the capitulation of Se- 
dan, of all the garrison and all Bazaine's 
army, comprising 3 marshals of France, 66 
generals, 6,000 officers and 173,000 troops. 
The Germans were astounded at this result 
—an army and fortress capitulating to an 
iaivesting army only a fraction larger than 
itself. . 

The French commissioners were Bazaine's 
Chief of Staff, Gen. Jarnas, Col. Fay and 
Maj. Samuele, on the part of the commander 
of the fortress. On the 28th, Maj. Landkuhl, 
Chief of Engineers of the Second Corps, was 
to enter by stipulation at 10 o'clock to with- 
draw the mines from under the forts, prepara- 
tory to the safe entry of the Se^'enth Corps, 
■who remained to guard the city and prison- 
ers, while the rest of the First Army de- 



parted immediately for Paris and for the 
south, the headquarters of Prince Frederick 
Charles at Lyons. At 1 o'clock the French 
army were to lay down their arms. All this 
was postponed 24 hours, in consequence of a 
want of readiness on the part of the French 
authorities, owing to internal disorders. 

THE AEMY LAYS DOWN ITS AEMS. 

On the 29th the forts were taken posses- 
sion of by the artillery of the Seventh Corps. 
At 1 o'clock the Third Division (which 
departed toward the south-west) and the 
Fourth Division were reviewed in splendid 
pageant by the Prince, on the Nancy-Metz 
road, near Tour-le-Brede. Thereupon the 
(French) Imperial Guards marched out of 
Metz, bearing their arms, which they subse- 
quently laid down at Frascati, and passed in 
review before the Prince. This honor was 
accorded to them alone. All the. rest laid 
down their arms in the Metz arsenals, and 
then marched to their cantonment outside the 
town, to await transportation. The Imperial 
Guards were received by the Prussian troops 
with respect; not a jeering syllable was 
heard, nor an improperly exultant look seen. 
Previously, at the Prince's review of the 
German troops, the cheering was loud and 
long-continued. 

At 4 p. M., the French companies that 
wfire still mounting guard at the various 
gates of the city and at depots and arsenals 
were relieved by Prussians, two regiments 
of infantry and one of cavalry having en- 
tered the town, 'J'he appointed military 
Governor-General, Von Zastrow, the Com- 
mander of the Seventh Corps, took posses- 
sion and control of the city and fortress, 
where he found the portrait of one of his 
ancestors who was at some early period also 
a military Governor of Metz» 

BAZAINE'S INTEIGUES. 

The tragedy was completed, but thefe is 
another side to the story which still remains 
to be reviewed. According to the statement 
of Gen. Von Zastrow, who held the woods 
of Vaux on the morning of August 19 (after 
the battle of Gravelotte), Bazaine could have 
avoided being enclosed in Metz. After he 
was thus inclosed, he could have, according 
to a Metzian statement, made a sortie and 
joined MacMahon more easily by far than 
MacMahon could reach him. After most of 
Bazaine's cavalry and artillery horses had 
been eaten, this proceeding was of course 
more difficult; still his movements are said 
to have lacked determination, and, in the 
last two sorties, to have been even frivolous. 
This is charged to a plot in behalf of the 
Regency by which this army was to try to 
remain in statu quo until the conclusion of 
the war in Western France, and then was to 
become available, with Prussian consent, for 
Bonapartist purposes. Bazaine himself ex- 
pected in that case to be the Governor of 
the Prince Imperial and the virtual Regent.) 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



89 



Nearly all the Metzians seemed to believe 
this ; and their most influential people 
avowed such belief. After the time of the 
investment, Bazaine was never seen in the 
camps except on extraordinary occasions ; 
never at all in the ambulances which are in 
part constructed in numerous railway box- 
wajjons on the Place Royale. Equally sel- 
dom was he seen in the city. The civil 
authorities had to find hira at the Barrier 
St. Martin; he did not appear at the City 
Hall once. He rarely, if ever, said a word 
to encoura,i*e his troops. Canrobert some- 
times cheered their hardships a little, and 
then they would cry ''Vive Canrohert! A 
has Bazaine I" 

Towards the last, it has been asserted by 
many, Bazaine did not dare to show himself 
to his own men for fear of assassination, and 
the terribly relaxed discipline was assuredly 
the cause of the hasty capitulation. On the 
morning of the 29th five soldiers lay dead of 
starvation at Montigny, while the stafi" still 
indulged in luxurious meals. Four days' 
rations were given to the entire army that 
morning (29th), but for two days previous 
they had received none. No beef nor pork 
had been obtainable at any price for a week ; 
but on that morning, before anything had 
arrived in town, the shops had plenty there- 
of, which goes to prove the charges current 
in the town that speculators had seized a 
quantity of food, and that a rational system 
of apportionment? such as existed during the 
last ten days, if introduced at first, and com- 
bined with requisitions, would have prevented 
much waste, and enabled the fortress to 
hold out a month longer. 

HIGH PSICE OF PROVISIONS. 

The Staff used at first to feed their horses 
on bread. Recently, prices had reached the 
following maximum : Sugar, $6 a pound ; 
Bait, $3 a pound ; one ham. $60 ; one potatoe, 
9 cents ; one onion, 12 cents. A little pig, 
caught near Gravelotte, sold for $150. Dur- 
ing five weeks, amputations were performed 
without chloroform or ether, and wounds 
dressed without carbolic acid. 

DISEASE AND DEATH. 

There were more than 19,000 sick and 
■wounded. During the siege 35,000 persons 
died in the town alone, the greater part from 
lack of proper care. The prevailing diseases 
•were varioloid, spotted typhus, and dysentery. 
Scurvy did not prevail, though even the 
sick, for over three weeks, received their 
horse steaks and horse broth without salt. 
The reported discovery of a saline spring at 
St. Julien was a hoax, contrived by putting 
salt into the spring to encourage the army. 

GENEEAL OPPOSITION TO THE STJEEENDEB. 

When the Capitulation became known, the 
people were furious. The National Guards 
refused to lay down their arms. On the after- 
noon of the 28th, a Captain of Dragoons 
appeared at the head of a body of troops 



who swore that tliey would sooner die than 
yield. Albert CoUignon, the editor of an 
ultra-Democratic daily newspaper, the Jour- 
nal de Metz, rode about on a white horse 
firing a pistol and exhorting them to sally 
forth and seek victory or death to escape 
impending shame. He was followed by a 
lady singing the Marseillaise. This produced 
terrible excitement. The doors of the 
Cathedral were burst open; and the tocsin 
was sounded and the bell rung nearly all 
night. 

When Gen. Coffiniferes appeared to pacify 
them, three pistol-shots were fired at him. 
Finally, by the aid of two regiments of the 
line, he quietly dispersed the mob ; but all 
night the sounds of grief, indignation, and 
terror continued. Respectable women ran 
about the streets tearing their hair and 
flinging their bonnets and laces nnder their 
feet, seeking their friends, and asking wildly, 
"What will become of our children?" Sol- 
diers, drunk and sober, tumbled hither and 
thither in irregular groups, with their caps 
off and their sabres broken, sobbing and 
weeping like children, and crying, " Oh 
pauvre Metz! Oh ma pauvre Meizl Tout 
est perdu !" 

It was as if they had never seen or known 
a Prussian. They demanded to know 
whether their already destitute larders must 
still supply the troops, and whether they 
would be personally maltreated if unable to 
furnish what was required. They were re- 
lieved by hearing that a thousand wagoHS 
were ready at Courcelles to bring provisions, 
and also that there were funds in London 
ready to be applied to their relief, in re- 
sponse to the appeal of the Mayors of Briey 
and other communes, published in English 
and American journals, saying, " Help is 
needed quickly." 

GEEMAN SOLDIERS GIVE THEIR RATIONS 
TO THE FRENCH. 

The entire besieging army voluntarily 
gave up their bread rations to feed their 
numerous French captives. This deeply 
touched the Metzians, and did \nuch to re- 
lieve their fears. At noon a Prussian rail- 
way-inspector made the trip by rail from 
Ars to Union Station, situated a mile south 
of Metz, and on the 30th perfect communi- 
cation by rail existed between Saarbruck, 
Maiz and Nancy. The road was little in- 
jured. 

But few German prisoners were found in 
Metz; the French had not kept those they 
had taken when they were in a condition to 
be returned. Not one of the French officers 
and soldiers who swarmed all about, even 
when intoxicated — which was surprisingly 
unfrequent — wore any other expression than 
a look of sadness or defiance, the latter not 
being common, and occurring chiefly among 
the younger offieers. 

DEMORALIZATION. 
I am informed that the French loss in 
killed in the yarious affairs since August 



90 



THE FKANCO-GERMAN WAE. 



18th, added to the deatlis from sickness in 
the town, were 42,000. Bazaine himself de- 
dined the Prince's generous proposal to let 
all the troops lay down their arms outside 
of the works in view of their conquerors, in- 
stead of laying them down in the arsenal, 
saying that he could not guarantee their 
behaviour. The Imperial Guards alone had 
preserved discipline sufficiently to be trusted 
to pass in armed review. The inhabitants 
had never ceased to hope for the appearance 
of Bourbaki's army from Lille, or of the 
Army of the Loire, or of some other relieving 
force ; but the troops themselves during the 
last few weeks could no longer be deceived, 
as they got better information through *he 
German outposts. 

Their demoralization, due largely to hun- 
ger, was bitterly and openly complained of 
by their officers. At 4 o'clock in the 
afternoon Bazaine passed through Ars, on 
his way to Wilhelmshbhe, in a closed car- 
riage, inarked with his name, escorted by 
several officers of his staff on horseback. 

BAZAINE ASSAILED BY WOMEN. 

The women of the village had heard of his 
coming, and awaited him with crie* of 
" Traitor !" " Thief 1" " Coward 1" " Loafer !" 
" Brigand !" " Where are our husbands 
whom you have betrayed ?" " Give us back 
our childcen whom you have sold !" They 
attacked Hhe carriage, and broke the win- 
dows, and would have lynched the Marshal 
but for the intervention of Prussian gen- 
darmes. 

'J'here was anything but harmony in the 
counsels of the generals shut up in the be- 
leaguered fortress. It was believed that 
Metz could have held out much longer, but 
the policy of Bazaine prevailed,, and on the 
morning of the 27th he capitulated, to be 
greeted throughout France, and especially 
by Minister Gambetta and other members 
of the Government of Defence, as a traitor 
for so doing. 

The capitulation of Metz was even more 
disastrous than that of Sedan. The Ger- 
mans came' into possession of 53 eagles, 541 
field and 800 siege guns, 66 mitrailleuses, 
and 300,000 rifles and sabres, in addition to 
about 155,000 prisoners, who swelled the 
ranks of the captured French host to about 
285.000. Among the prisoners were three 
Marshals of the Empire, Bazaine, Canrobert, 
and Le Boeuf, and Generals L'Admirault, 
Froseard, De Caen, Coffiniferes, Soleille and 
Lc Brun, and 37 other division and 100 
brigadier-generals. But most important of 
all was the capture of the city itself, and its 
restoration to the doniinion of Germany, to 
which it had belonged centuries before. The 
event was, indeed, one of such signal propor- 
tions that King William celebrated it by 
bestowing the unusual rank of Field Marshal 
upon Prince Frederick Charles, on October 
29th, the Crown Prince being complhnented 
with a similar promotion, while General Von 
Jloltke, whose directing genius presided over 



all, was lifted from a simple baron to the 
rank of a count. 

About this grand turning point in the 
history of the war also clustered the capitu- 
lation, on October 24th, of the important 
city of Schlestadt, below Strasbourg, with 
2,400 prisoners and 120 cannon, and the 
occupation of Dijon, 196 miles southeast of 
Paris, on the 30th. 

EFFECT OF THE NEWS IN TOTJBS— A CIR- 
CULAR FROM GAMBETTA— A FEARFUL 
RUMOR. 

A profound impression was produced at 
Tours by the news of Bazine's capitulation. 
The majority deemed it a political move, 
and expressed intense indignation. The 
Army of the Loire, which had been largely 
increased, was ready to attack the Prussian 
forces, and much was expected from it 
toward the deliverance of Paris. The sur- 
render of Metz checked its efforts. 

When the surrender of Metz was rumored, 
Minister Gambetta issued a circular to Pre- 
fects, saying : " I have received from all 
sides grave reports, the veracity of which, 
in spite of all efforts, I cannot establish offi 
cially. It is said that Metz has capitulated. 
If so, it is well that you have the opinion of 
the Government on the matter. " Such an 
event could but be the result of a crime, the 
authors of which should be outlawed. Be 
convinced that, whatever may arise, nothing 
can abate our courage in.this epoch of ras- 
cally capitulations. There exists one thing 
which neither can nor will capitulate, that is 
the French Republic." 

THE SIEGE OF PARIS. 

The siege of Paris had at last become a 
stubborn reality, and the Parisians inaugu- 
rated that series of sorties which had become 
not less famous for its pertinacity than for its 
futility. 'I'he first sortie in force was made 
on September 30,th, on the south of the be- 
leaguered capital, against the 5th and 6th 
Prussian Corps, portions of the Crown 
Prince's army. The struggle lasted two 
hours, at the end of which time the French 
sought shelter xmder the guns of the forts, 
with a loss of at least 1,000, while the Ger- 
mans suffered inconsiderably. 

Meanwhile there had been some futile talk 
of peace. Lord Lyons and Senor Olozaga 
had been busy to no purpose, and finally 
Favre himself tried his hand at it. On the 
22d of September M. Favre had visited the 
Prussian headquarters at Meaux, where he 
had an interview with Count Bismarck. The 
only terms to which Bismarck would listen 
involved the annexation of Alsace and Lor- 
raine to Germany. This concession Favre, 
supported by his colleagues, repudiated, and 
in a circular issued on the 24:th declared that 
" Paris is exasperated, and will rather bury 
herself beneath her own ruins than agree to 
such insolent pretensions." M. Thiers had 
likewise, on September 12, started on apeaca 
mission, visiting London, Vienna, and St. 




5:hb men being required to defend parts, many beautiful and 
wealthy young ladies engaged in field labor, such as digging 
potatoes, etc. 

SBa^rent) W SJJanncr iitit ber 33ert^eibigung ijc-n fiaxi^ ju' t^tm fiatkn, taaxen 
tticic fd)onc unb reic^e junge SDamen mit gelb=^rkitcit t»cf^.aftigt, ^ — ^(^^^ 
tofe(=Srttte u. f. \i\ 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



91 



Tf tersburg, in the endeavor to interest the 
neutral powers in the cause of an honorable 
peace. But his missi6n was a total failure, 
and by the end of the month he was home- 
ward bound. 

The talk about peace had led the Govern- 
ment of Defence to contemplate the callinj? 
of a Constituent Assembly to ratify its 
terms and establish a permanent and authori- 
tative government, but the failure of the 
negotiations led the Paris section of the 
Government to declare the elections post- 
poned indefinitely. The Tours branch of 
the Government, however, concluded to pro- 
ceed with the elections, and issued a decree 
fixinj? the I6th of October as the date. 'I'his 
action, which was taken on October 1, was 
reversed on the 9th, and the elections declared 
postponed until Prance should be free from 
invasion. Considerable discontent was mani- 
fested, both in Paris and the provincial 
cities, at this course. Early in October 
there were serious disturbances in Lyons, 
and later in the month Marseilles was pveatly 
asritated by the demonstrations of the Red 
Republicans. Gambetta, escaped from Paris, 
announced his arrival at Tours on the 9th of 
October by the first of a series of formidable 
proclamations, by which cheap method he 
•strove to the lagt to smother discontent and 
■dispel despair. Gradually the provinces 
■were quieted, before a grand crisis was pre- 
cipitated by the fall of Metz and the occur- 
rence of serious disturbances in Paris. 

The friends of Prance, meanwhile, took 
encourajreraent from the noble manner in 
which Metz still held out. from several suc- 
cessful sorties from Soissons about the first 
of October, and from the stout resistance 
made by the petty fortress of Bitche, near 
the Bavarian frontier Soissons, however, 
succumbed on the mornma: of October 16th. 
a,fter a terrible destruction of life and 
properly and a most heroic resistance. The 
Germans, under the command of the Duke 
of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. had invested the 
fortress with a force about 22.000 strong, 
for three weeks, the destructive bombard- 
ment, however, lasting only four days. With 
the surrender A,T2^ prisoners and 128 guns 
were captured, and a second railway line was 
opened between the army investing Paris and 
its base of supplies. 

Even more important, temporarily, was 

THE CAPTURE OF ORLEANS, 

which the Germans entered on the night of 
October II. after a struggle lasting from 9 
o'clock in the morning until 7 in the evening. 
The German army, which was commanded 
by General Von der Tann, was made up 
principally of Bavarians, and was greatly 
superior, in point of numbers, to the French 
Army of the Loire, then just entering on 
that famous career upon which the hopes of 
France were centred so long. The Germans 
-captured 6,000 prisoners, drove the French to 



the left of the Loire, and threw the Govern- 
ment at Tours into a fright, by threatening 
to swoop down upon that city. 

SERIOTTS DISTURBANCES IN PARIS. 

The news of the fall of Metz was carried 
into Paris by M. Thiers, who had no sooner 
returned from his unsuccessful tour of the 
European courts than he resurned his efforts 
in behalf of at least a temporary cessation 
of hostilities. M. Thiers was suffered by the 
German authorities to enter Paris in the 
interest of an armistice, and as soon as news 
of the terrible disaster on the Moselle was 
generally known and admitted by the Govern- 
ment, and the announcement made that M. 
Thiers had entered the city to arrange for 
an armistice, the temporary reaction was 
tremendous. The discontented elements of 
the population were headed by Gustavo 
Flourens, the blatant demagogue who had 
gained so much notoriety by his participa- 
tion in the disturbances attending the fune- 
ral of Victor Noir during the previous 
winter, and had, like Victor Hugo, returned 
to Paris with the republic. By his rampant 
course he had succeeded in disgusting and 
alienating even Rochefort, his former coadju- 
tor on La Marseillaise, and he seized upon 
this opportune moment for an attempt at 
snpplanting the existing Government. On 
the 31st of October, Flourens threw all 
Paris into a terrible tumult by invading with 
his adherents the Hotel de Ville, and making 
prisoners of several members of the Govern, 
raent. The Mobiles, the National Guard, 
and the sober-minded element of the popula- 
tion came to the rescue, and with theiu 
assistance the mob was dispersed before any 
serious mischief had been done. The Govern- 
ment, immediately after the suppression of 
the Red Republican demonstration, made an 
appeal to the people of Paris, who. by a vote 
of .o57,996 yeas to 62.2.38 "nays, declared their 
confidence in the constituted authorities. 

RED REPUBLICAN DISTURBANCES AT MAR- 
SEILLES. 

Following closely upon the disturbances in 
Paris, there was a serious commotion at 
Marseilles, in which city the Red Republican 
element, thoroughly organized through the 
agency of the international Workingmen's 
Association, had from the first been formida- 
ble in numbers and pretensions. M. Al- 
phonse Gent, who had been despatched by 
Gambetta to succeed Esquiros as Govern- 
ment Administrator, was assaulted on his 
arrival in the city on November 2d, and 
seriously wounded by a pistol shot. The 
proclamation of an independent Southern 
Republic followed on November 2, but the 
demonstration did -not assume formidable 
proportions, and at a municipal election held 
a few days afterwards, the Red Republicans 
mustered but 8,000 votes, against 29,000 in 
the interest of order. 



92 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



PTTTILE NEGOTIATIONS FOB AN ABMISTICE. 

The disturbances which had marked the 
•lose of October in Paris did not dampen the 
peaceful ardor of M. Thiers. The latter had 
entered Paris on the 30th of the month, and 
after assuring the capital of the fall of Metz, 
had a prolonp^ed conference with the Govern- 
ment. On the following day he returned to 
the German headquarters at Versailles, where 
he had consultations with the King and Bis- 
marck, and on the 7th of November he was 
again permitted to consult M. Pavre on the 
pending question. General Burnside had 
gone back and forth between Paris and Ver- 
sailles several times just previous to M. 
Thiers' visits to the capital, and, by obtain- 
ing the views of the leaders of both parties 
to the struggle, had paved the way for M. 
Thiers' labors, although his own had been 
without any favorable result. 

A fatal disagreement between Favre and 
Bismarck was developed by M. Thiers' nego- 
tiations. The Germ'ans offered an armistice 
of twenty-five days to enable elections for 
members of a Constituent Assembly to be 
held, on the basis of the status quo. The 
French Government insisted, however, on 
the revictualling of Paris ; to this the Ger- 
mans would not consent, and so the negotia- 
tions ended in smoke. M. Favre, in a circu- 
lar dated November 8, recounted the pro- 
gress of the negotiations and their failure, 
saying that " Prussia proves anew, in reject- 
ing the armistice, that she makes war for 
personal aims merely, and not for the inter- 
ests of Germany." As a counterblast to this. 
Count Bismarck, in a circular bearing the 
same date as M. Favre's, expressed the con- 
viction that the rulers of France did not de- 
sire to hear the views of the nation expressed 
through a representative parliamentary body, 
and insisted on a concession which they knew 
from the first to be unacceptable, " in order 
not to give the neutral powers, on whose sup- 
port they counted, a direct refusal " to negoti- 
ate for peace. 

THE GEBMANS DRIVEN FEOM OELEANS. 

After General Von der Tann's victory at 
Orleans on the 11th of October, the Army 
of the Loire, now under the command of 
General d'Aurelles de Palladines, was thor- 
oughly reorganized, and early in November 
assumed the offensive, De Palladines as- 
saulted Von der Tann's force on the 9th, the 
engagement, which was of a straggling char- 
acter, continuing through the 10th, and 
resulting, through an overwhelming superio- 
rity in numbers, in driving the Germans 
out of the city of Orleans, which was occu- 
pied by the French on the last day of the 
fight. Von der Tann was in a few days rein- 
forced by General Wittich, Prince Albreoht, 
iind the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, arid 
^f ter effecting an orderly retreat to the north- 
east, awaited the advance of a portion of the 
army of Prince Frederick Charles, while the 
Army of the Loire, all aglow with the first 



substantial triumph which had attended the 
French cause, prepared to go to the relief of 
beleaguered Paris. 

THE TIDE TURNED AGAIN. 

On the 8th of November, the important 
fortress of Verdun, twenty-five miles west of 
Metz, on the Meuse. capitulated to the Ger- 
mans, who added here about 4,000 prisoners 
to the enormous number already captured. 
Neuf Breisach surrendered on the 10th. with 
5,000 additional, and the Germans thereby 
came into possession of all the strongholds 
on the Rhine. Dijon, from which the Ger- 
mans had retired after their first occupation 
of the place, was re-entered on the 16lh, 
and Thionville, just above Metz on the 
Moselle, capitulated on the morning of 
the 25th, after a determined and heroic re- 
sistance. 

In the north a formidable French army, 
under General Faidherbe, had been organized 
in the neighborhood of Amiens. On Nov- 
ember 28th, this army was brought into 
action for the first time, a few. miles south of 
the city, and was completely routed by a 
portion of the First German Army under 
General Manteuffel. The engagement was 
not a bloody one, but at its close the Ger- 
mans, some 70,000 strong, occupied Aiiiie&s. 

A GRAND BUT FUTIIE EFFORT TO RELJEVE 
PARIS. 

Simultaneous with the occupation of 
Amiens, the French were engaged in making 
a desperate effort at breaking the lines 
around Paris. During October and Novem- 
ber, the invested city had not been idle, but 
the sorties made by General Trochu had 
been more in the nature of feints, and the 
only thing accomplished had been the temp- 
orary disturbance of the German lines in the 
neighborhood of Versailles and St. Denis, 
about the middle of October. 

On November 28th, the main body of the 
Army of the Loire attempted to force a 
passage towards Fontainebleau. They en- 
countered the army of Prince Frederick 
Charles at Beaune-Ia-Rolande, twenty-six 
miles northeast of Orleans, where they sus- 
tained a complete defeat, with the loss of 
over .5,000 in killed and wounded, and several 
thousand prisoners, while the German loss 
was but little over 1,000. 

Simultaneous with the advance of De Pal- 
ladines, General Trochu sallied out of Paris 
in great force. A wild rumor flew over the 
wires throughout the world that the German 
lines had been successfully pierced, and the 
Armies of the Loire and of Paris had effected 
a junction. But, after a struggle protracted 
from the evening of November 28th to the 
3d of Decem'ber, General Ducrot, who was 
in immediate command, was obliged to 
withdraw across the Marne, with an ac- 
knowledged loss of over 6,000 in killed and 
wounded. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



9S 



The army of the Loire, undismayed by the 
«v. feat sustained on November 28th, renewed 
iio efforts to advance towards Paris, but sus- 
tained successive defeats — on the 1st of De- 
cember, west of Orleans, by General Von 
der Tann; on the 2d, near Bazoches-Ies- 
Ilautes, by the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg ; 
and on the 3d, near Artenay, by Prince 
Frederick Charles. The result of these pro- 
tracted engagements, according to M. Gam- 
betta, was that "the Army of the Loire dis- 
continued its forward movement,'' and 
evacuated Orleans, to save the city from de- 
struction. For his grand failure, General 
De Palladines was deprived of his command, 
to which General Chanzy succeeded. Dur- 
ing the series of engagements, the Germans 
captured 10,000 prisoners, 77 cannons, and 4 
gunboats on the Loire. 

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT REMOVED TO 
BORDEAUX. 

Thus the first "supreme effort" to save 
France, after the fall of Metz, came utterly 
to naught. An essential result of the accu- 
mulation of disaster was the removal of the 
French Government from Tours to Bor- 
deaux, which commenced on December 9th. 

FURTHER DISASTERS TO THE ARMT OF THE 
LOIRE. 

On the 7th the assault on the Army of the 
Loire was renewed by Prince' 5'rederick 
Charles and the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, 
and after four days' severe fighting around 
Beangency, a few miles southwest of Orleans, 
the French were driven back upon Blois and 
Tours, with great loss. Vendome, to the 
west of Orleans, was also occupied, the 
French retiring in the direction of Le Mans, 
112 miles southwest of Paris, and the most 
important railway station west of the capital. 
Here General Chanzy made a halt, and was 
strongly reinforced before he again con- 
fronted the enemy. Tours, the abandoned 
deputy capital, was temporarily occupied by 
the Germans on December 20, without se- 
rious opposition. 

On January 6, the German forces beyond 
Vendome encountered two corps of the 
Army of the Loire, which had again made 
an advance. A severe engagement ensued 
resulting in the defeat of the French, who re- 
treated to the westward. Prince Frederick 
Charles, who was in command of the Ger- 
mans, followed Chanzy closely, 'and on the 
10th and Uth terrific engagements ensued 
near Le Mans, ending in the total rout of 
the Army of the Loire and its practical de- 
struction. The Germans lost 177 officers 
and 3.203 men killed and wounded, while the 
French, besides their killed and wounded, 
lost 22.000 unwounded prisoners. Thus the 
'' forlorn hope " of Paris vanished. 

operation's in THE NORTH. 

General Manteuffel had occupied Rouen 
on the 4th of December, after several en- 
counters with the army of Faidherbe, and 



left General Von Goeben in command there. 
At the same time the Germans withdrew 
from Amiens and made a feint upon Havre. 
Serious fighting was renewed on the 22d, 
and continued on the 23d, the French being 
defeated, and the year closed with Manteuffel 
in pursuit of Faidherbe's retreating army. 

On the 2d, and again on the 3d of January, 
there were severe engagements near Ba- 
paume, 25 miles northeast of Amiens, in 
which Faidherbe claimed the victory; but, 
if such it was, it was a fruitless one. After 
receiving heavy reinforcements, Faidherbe 
resumed the offensive, but on the 19th, after 
an obstinate fight of seven hours, was driven 
into St. Quentin, 40 miles east of Amiens, 
by General Von Goeben, who had succeeded 
Manteuffel in the chief command in the 
niifth. St. Quentin was subsequently aban- 
doned by the French, who retreated, in a 
totally demoralized condition, on Cambray, 
20 miles north, to which place the Germans 
at once laid siege ; and thence to the north- 
west, on Arras, Douai, and Lille, inundating 
the country to prevent effective pursuit. 
The disasters to the Array of the North 
were fairly on a par with those sustained by 
the Army of the Loire at Le Mans, the 
French loss being over 15,000, of whom 
9,000 were unwounded prisoners. The Ger- 
man loss was officially reported at 94 officers 
and 3,000 men. 

On the 9th of January, the fortress of 
Peronne, between Amiens and St. Quentin, 
had been captured, with 3,000 prisoners, after 
the town was nearly destroyed by bombards 
ment. 

OPERATIONS IN THE EAST. 

After the fall of Strasbourg, General Von 
Werder had proceeded to the south in the 
direction of Belfort, at the head of a con- 
siderable force. The badly-disciplined troops 
of Garibaldi and his two sons had been opera- 
ting in the southern section of the Vosges 
for some time, without doing much damage 
or achieving many laurels. On November 
26 and 27, they were routed by Von Werder 
at Pasques, after which the latter proceeded 
to Belfort, to strengthen the besieging force. 
The fortress had been invested on November 
3. and on the 16tli and 23d the garrison had 
indulged in unsuccessful sorties. On Decem- 
ber 18, a severe engagement took place at 
Nuits, fifteen miles S. S. W. of Dijon, lasting 
five hours, and ending in the capture of the 
town. 

About the middle of December a formida 
ble army under General Bourbaki was des. 
patched to the Vosges, to confront Von 
Werder and raise the siege of Belfort. Dijon, 
which had been occupied the second time by 
the Germans on the 30th of October, was 
evacuated on the approach o( the French, 
and occupied by Garibaldi's forces on Decem- 
ber 29. On January 9, Bourbaki was defeated 
at Villersexel, twenty miles W.S. W. of Bel 
fort, and on the 15th Von Werder success 
fully resisted a fierce assault on his positioi 



94 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



south of Belfort. Bourbaki renewed the at- 
tack on the 16th and 17th, but sustained a 
damaging defeat on both occasions, with 
heavy loss. He then withdrew his baffled 
array from the immediate vicinity of the 
Oerman forces, and contented himself for 
some time with outpost skirmishing. 

Active operations, however, were subse- 
quently resumed in the neighborhood of 
Dijon, near which place the Germans were 
repulsed on January 22, by the Garibaldians, 
after a severely contested fight, according to 
French reports. But this success could not 
materially affect the critical position of Bour- 
baki, who found himself between the army 
of Von Werder, around Belfort, and a force 
under Manteuffel, who was hastening to the 
latter's assistance and to assume the chief 
cemmand in the East. • 

MINOS MILITARY MOVEMENTS. 

On December 13, the minor stronghold of 
Pfalsburg, in the Vosges, twenty-five miles 
northwest of Strasbourg, capitulated, after a 
protracted siege which had commenced on 
August 14, immediately after the battle of 
Woerth. Nearly 2,000 prisoners and 63 can- 
non were captured with the fortress. 

On December 14, Montmedy, twenty-five 
miles north of Yerdun, surrendered, after a 
severe bombardment which effected a breach 
3n the walls. The first engagement in the 
neighborhood had occurred on September 8, 
after which the' town had been closely in- 
vested, the garrison making sorties on Octo- 
ber 11 and November 16 and 17, but without 
any success except on the last occasion. The 
Oermana captured 3,000 prisoners and 65 
cannon with the fortress. 

The next minor capture of importance by 
the Germans was M^ziferes, fifty miles north- 
east of Rheims, and near the scene of MacMa- 
hon's crashing defeat in September. The 
siege commenced immediately after the.latter 
event, and the defence made by the garrison 
•was heroic and unflagging. On September 
26th, an armistice of forty-eight hours was 
granted for the removal of the wounded ; the 
garrison made a determined sortie on Nov. 
14th ; and on November 30th, the Germans 
were twice repulsed in attacks on the town. 
On January 2d, however, the fortress capitu- 
lated, with 2,000 prisoners and 106 cannon. 

Next came the fate of Longwy, near the 
Belgian frontier, thirty-three miles north- 
northwest of Metz. Here the Germans 
again encountered a determined resistance. 
On January 21st the garrison made a suc- 
cessful sortie, dismounting several of the be- 
siegers' guns and forcing them to withdraw 
their batteries to a greater distance. But on 
the 25th the town at last fell into the hands 
of the Germans, with 3,000 prisoners and 200 
.cannon. 

EOMBASDMENT OF FAEIS. 

Returning to the siege of Paris, we find 
Von Moltke politely informing Trochu of 
the disasters to the Army of the Loire and 



the reoccupation of Orleans, in a note dated 
December 5th. I'rochu declined to verify 
the fact by sending one of his officers through 
the lines, under a proffered safe conduct, and 
prepared for another sortie. On the 21st, 
Vinoy and Dncrot again ventured bfeyond the 
range of the forts. Vinoy assaulted the Ger- 
man lines on the east of the city, and Ducrot 
on the south. It is said that 100.000 French 
troops participated in these sorties, which 
were comprehensive in plan, but feeble iu 
execution and easily repulsed. 

Thus far, the German army around the 
capital had been content in strengthening its 
lines and repelling the sorties of the garrison. 
But by Christmas it was prepared for more 
exciting work, and on the 27th the bombard- 
ment of Fort Avron, the most advanced of 
the French outworks east of Paris, was com- 
menced. The French guns were silenced, 
and a Saxon detachment on advancing found 
the works abandoned. The Germans were 
thus established within the outer works of 
the French, at one of the weakest points 
along their line of defence, and within sheU 
ling distance of the city itself. ' The begin- 
ning of the end was at hand. To trace th9 
progress of the bombardment in detail is as 
yet impossible ; the barest outline must suf- 
fice. 4'he abandonment of the Fort Avron 
rendered, the evacuation of other advanced 
posts in the neighborhood necessary, and the 
whole line of forts to the east was soon re- 
dnced to* comparative silence. On January 
5th the bombardment of the southern forts 
was opened, and continued with destructive 
effect, the fiery cordon being extended from 
the south to the north by the opening of the 
German batteries upon St. Denis on the 
22d. Gradually the aim of the besiegers' 
guns was directed upon the city itself, and 
shells fell almost in the heart of the city, 
creating consternation and making havoc 
with life and property. The first shells fell 
within the enceinte oh the 5th, and on the 
8th the fire upon the city itself became well 
directed and continuous In a circular issued 
on the 15th, the Government of Defence pro- 
tested against the bombardment, because it 
was not preceded by a special warning to re- 
move non-combatants and characterized it 
as " an act coldly calculated to devastate the 
city and strike terror to the citizens by mur 
der and incendiarism." 

Sorties, however, were again resorted to or. 
the 13th, on- the northeast, south, and south, 
west of the city, but, like all that had pre- 
ceded them, they were unavailing. A more 
formidable sortie was made from Fort Monti 
VaI6rien, on the west, on the morning of 
the 19th. The French attacked the Germans 
in immense force, but after a terrible con- 
flict, lasting six hours, their left was broken 
and they were driven back. The French loss 
was so great that they were compelled to 
ask an armistice of forty-eight hours, to col- 
lect their wounded and bury their dead, 
which was tacitly granted by the Germaik 
pickets, although refused by the generals 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



97 



The result of this unsuccessful attempt at 
diverting the enemy from their destructive 
Tvork on llie other side of the city was ex- 
tremely depressinp: upon the army and peo- 
ple of Paris. Both soldiers and citizens at 
last abandoned their faith in Trochu, and the 
latter tendered his resijrnation, to appease 
the popuhir clamor, and leave the Govern- 
ment of Defence at liberty to meet the emer- 
gency as best they could. The Council of 
Ministers, on the afternoon of the 21st. ac- 
cepted Trochu's resignation as Military Gov- 
ernor and Cornmander-in-chief of the Army 
of Paris, Generol Vinoy beinj? appointed his 
*6uccessor. Trochu was retained, however, 
as Civil Governor of the city and nominal 
President of the Government of Defence. 
General Vinoy accepted the command, on 
condition that stern measures should be 
adopted to repress the disturbances which 
were threatened by the Red Republican ele- 
ment. There was immediate opportunity 
for enforcin": his repressive policy. On the 
night of Saturday, January 21. a disorderly 
mob assailed the Mazas prison, in which Gus- 
tavo Flourens. Felix Pyat, and other revolu- 
tionary characters were incarcerated. They 
succeeded in liberating the prisoners, and on 
the followins: day a demonstration was made 
upon the Hotel de Ville, with the avowed 
object of deposing the Government. The 
crowd was not a larsre one, but their momen- 
tary success would have precipitated a crisis, 
and decisive measures were taken to avert a 
serious catastrophe, Five of the rioters and 
spectators were killed, and eighteen wounded ; 
and this small expenditure of blood sufficed 
to suppress the demonstration, and disperse 
the crowd. 

THE CAPITULATION OF PARIS. 

The end was at hand. The new year was 
ushered in by the one hundred and tiFth day 
of the siege. Saturday, Jamiary 28, ex- 
tended the period of investment and isolation 
to one hundred and tliirty-three days. For 
fully nineteen weeks Paris had been shut in 
from tlie great world of which it claimed to 
be the capital and centre. During the whole 
of this extended period a population of two 
millions liad subsisted upon the stock of pro- 
visions accumulated in expectation of a siege. 
Not a loaf of bread or an ounce of meat had 
found its way into the city from without. 
Jlorseilesh in time took the place of the ordi- 
nary animal food of civilized nations, and 
when this too began to fail, dogs, cats, and 
rats were brought into requisition. Even 
these unsavory aliments failed at last, and 
the people, long inured to unsatisfied hunger, 
were at last on the very verge of starvation. 
Terrible missiles of death were falling in the 
heart of tlie city ; Flourens was aofain ioose 
and at the head of the mob which respected 
neither life, nor property nor principle ; the 
last " supreme effort " at a sortie had been 
the most signal failure of all — the end had 
come at last. 



On the evening of Monday, January 23d, 
M. Jules Favre, whose belief in tJie impreg- 
nability of Paris against the combined as- 
saults of famine, fire, and fusillade, had 
undergone a change, arrived at Bismarck's 
headquarters in Versailles, to propose capi- 
tulation. With the course of the negotiations 
we are not yet familiar, because of the con- 
flicting and unauthcnticated reports which 
have been borne across the ocean by the 
cable. There was naturally a higgling over 
the terras of the surrender, and several con- 
sultations were lecessary before they conid 
be arranged satisfactory to both sides. On 
Thursday, the 26th, Favre again met Bis- 
marck, being accompanied by M. Dorian, 
who had just succeeded General Leflo as 
Minister of War, and M. Picard, the Minis- 
ter of Finance. On Friday, the 27th, an- 
other conference resulted in the settlement 
of the terras, and the fall of Paris was con- 
summated on the following day, when the 
signatures of Bismarck and Favre were 
affixed to the capitulation, and an armistice 
of three weeks' duration. 

THE WAR ON THE OCEAN-^x GREATER 
FARCE THAN THAT ON LAND. 

At the time of the declaration of war by 
France against Prussia, the relative strength 
of the two powers on the- ocean was as 
follows : — 

France, North Gennanj/. 

Number of vessels 401 102 

" " guns 3,045 620 

Horse-power ., 92,627 10,770 

Of the French fleet of 401 vessels, G2 were 
iron-clads, 264 screw steamers, 62 paddle- 
wheel steamers, and 113 sailing vessels. The 
German total of 102 vessels consisted of 7 
iron-clad screw steamers, 9 frigates and 
corvettes, 27 gunboats, and 59 sailing ves- 
sels. The French fleet was manned, when 
on a peace footing, by 2,218 officers and 39,346 
sailors, the total being swelled by the men 
of all grades and in all capacities attached 
to the service to 74,403 ; while there was 
provision for increasing this formidable force 
to about 170,000 in time of war. The Ger- 
man fleet, on the contrary, was manned by 
only 216 officers and 3,500 seamen and boys 

This great disparity, as a matter of course 
drove Germany from the ocean, and rendered 
a naval contest of any importance impossi- 
ble from the outset. It likewise sufficed 
almost to annihilate the foreign commerce 
of Germany without the firing of a gun, 
while that of France remained practically 
secure from molestation. But Germany ap- 
prehended a greater misfortune even than 
this — a descent by a formidable fleet upon 
her coast, and the devastation of her sea- 
board, if not an actual invasion of her terri- 
tory. To guard against such disasters, ex- 
tensive precautionary measures were taken; 
the buoys and lights were all removed, ren- 
dering the approaches to the coast exceed- 
ingly hazardous ; the mouths of the Weser, 
Elbe, and Oder, and the harbors of Kiel and 



98 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



Stralsund, were protected by chains, sunken 
vessels and torpedoes; and two formidable 
armies were held in reserve— one of 108,000 
men. under the command of the Grand Duke 
of Mecklenburg, on the Baltic coast, near 
the mouth of the Oder, and another of 58,000, 
under General Yon Falkenstein, near the 
mouth of the Elbe. 

Previous to the outbreak of the war, the 
United States had become entirely dependent 
upon the North German lines of steamers 
for postal facilities with Europe, and an 
effort was made by our Government to se- 
cure the exemption of their steamers from 
capture or interference, which favor the 
Imperial Government declined to grant ; and 
in consequence of the refusal, the North 
German steamers plying between New York 
and Bremen and Hamburg were obliged to 
seek safety in home or neutral ports. 

Immediately upon the declaration of war 
great activity was displayed by France in 
preparing her navy for service against the 
enemy, Cherbourg being the natural point 
of departure for the armor-plated fleet, from 
which the most effective service was expected. 
The first division of the fleet which rendez- 
voused at Cherbourg took its departure for 
the Baltic on July 24th, under Vice-Admiral 
Bouet-Willanmez, to be followed soon after 
by the second division under Rear-Adrairal 
Penhoet. Previous to sailing Admiral Bouet- 
Willauraez's fleet was honored by an unex- 
pected visit from the Empress Eugenie, who 
came to bring the proclamation of the Empe- 
ror and bid adieu in the name of France. 
Subsequently, the French fleet from the 
Mediterranean, under Vice-Admiral Fouri- 
chon, who became Minister of Marine under 
the Government of Defence after the down- 
fall of Napoleon, was despatched to the 
North Sea. It was by Admiral Fourichon 
that the proclamation, dated August 12, was 
issued announcing to the world the blockade 
of the whole North German coast, and 
granting a delay of only ten days to enable 
neutral vessels to complete their cargoes and 
leave the embargoed ports. 

Before entering the Baltic Admiral Bouet- 
Willaumez captured two Prussian gunboats 
at the mouth of the Elbe, and tried the 
range of his -guns on Wilhelmshaven, but 
without endeavoring to effect a landing. At 
Copenhagen the French fleet was received 
with great enthusiasm, and it was generally 
thought at the time that Denmark would be 
inveigled into an offensive and defensive 
alliance against Germany. The grossest 
mismanagement, however, was manifest from 
the start. The French commander did not 
attempt to take possession of one of the 
small islands on the coast of Holstein or 
Schleswig, to serve as a base of operations 
and a place of refuge, but contented himself 
with watching the enemy's seaboard, taking 
in coal and supplies on the open sea, and 
never coming to anchor except on retiring 
to the neutral waters of Denmark. His ves- 
sels were all of such great draught that it 



was impossible to approach the German 
coast near enough to inflict any damage, 
especially after the lights and buoys had 
been removed and false lights erected to 
attract his ships into .shallow water and over 
torpedoes. His fleet was subject to constant 
surprises at night from the small Prussian 
avisos, and up to the time of Napoleon's 
overthrow there was but a single encounter 
of any importance with the .enemy. This 
occurred on August 17, when the Prussian 
despatch-boat Grille started out of the Bay 
of Rugen to reconnoitre, and succeeded in 
drawing into a fruitless chase seven French 
iron-clads and two smaller vessels. Three 
Prussian gunboats soon joined the Grille, 
and a running fight of three hours ensued, 
in which no damage was done to either fleet, 
after which the Prussian vessels sought the 
protection of their shore batteries. On the 
21st of August an equally farcical encounter 
took place off Dantzic, between the Prussian 
corvette Nympe and three French iron-clads 
and a despatch boat. This was the sum and 
substance of the naval operations in the 
Baltic. The blockade was not even effective, 
and vessels entered and left the ports of 
Dantzic and Koenigsberg freely from first to 
last. 

In the North Sea there was absolutely no 
movements of sufficient consequence to re- 
cord in this summary. The French fleet, 
formidable in numbers and armament, la- 
bored under the same disadvantages as that 
in the Baltic, and the downfall of the Em'- 
pire reduced both squadrons to complete in- 
activity. The proclamation of the Republic 
was quietly, even enthusiastically, acquiesced 
in by the navy ; Fourichon left his command 
to assume the functions of the Ministry of 
Marine; and on September 11th the blockade 
was formally and officially raised in both the 
North Sea and the Baltic, the greater portion 
of the fleet being recalled to protect Cher- 
bourg, Havre, ^nd Brest. 

Subsequently, in October and November, 
the pretence of another blockade was made, 
and the order which had been given for the 
restoration of lights and buoys on the Ger- 
man coast was suspended. It amounted to 
nothing, however, and the service of the 
North German ocean steamers was resumed 
about the first of October, with tolerable 
regularity and perfect impunity. A large 
number of German merchant vessels, how- 
ever, were captured during the progress of 
hostilities, and a few engagements took place 
in distant parts of the world. On the 10th 
of November, a naval duel took place off 
Havana between the French war steamer 
Bouvet and the Prussian war steamer Met- 
eor, the former carrying five guns and eighty 
men, and the latter three guns and sixty 
men. But little damage was done, the Met- 
eor getting the best of the encounter. A 
combat likewise took place at some indefinite 
point in the Pacific, about the 20th of De- 
cember, in which the Prussian frigate Medusa 
is reported to have sunk two small French 




MR. CHARLES M. SAVAGE, OF LOUISVILLE, KY., WAS STRUCK BY A BOMB- 
SHELL IN PARIS DURING THE SIEGE, AND INSTANTLY KILLED. 

bet 33i'Iagerung von einem Somknfpltttcr getrpjfeti «nt) aitgenMidUd) gc* 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



9& 



fmnbofttfl. It has also been reported that 
the Prussian corvette Augusta ran down 
and sunk a French punboat off tlie coast 
of Spain on the 12th of January, but no 
rehable particulars of the encounter have 
been received. 

AN ARUISTICE SIOITED. 

THK PARIS FORTS IN THE HANDS OP THE PRUSSIANS. 

The despatches from Versailles on January 
29th announctd that Bismarck signed, on 
Saturday the 28th, with M. Favre, the 
capitulation of all the Paris forts and an 
armistice of three weeks on land and sea; the 
Array of Paris to remain prisoners of war 
■within the capital. 

It was stated in diplomatic circles that the 
negotiations for the capitulation of Paris 
would have been concluded earlier, had not 
Bismarck insisted on the acceptance of con- 
ditions of peace. 

A despatch from "Versailles, bearing date 
of January 30th, said the occupation of the 
Paris forts by the German troops was un- 
attended by any incident of general interest. 

The evening edition of The Times con- 
tained a despatch from Versailles which 
stated that the contribution imposed upon 
Paris by the articles of capitulation is 
53,000.000 francs. 

A despatch forwarded from Versailles to 
Bordeaux on the 281h. by Jules Favre, to the 
Government at Bordeaux, stated the treaty 
was signed on the 30th. There is to be an 
armistice for twenty-one days. The National 
Assembly was to be convened at Bordeaux 
on the 15th of February. The elections took 
place on the 8th of February. A member 
of the Paris Government left at once for 
Bordeaux. 

THE NAVY INCLUDED IN THE ARMISTICE. 

Secretary Fish received the following tele- 
gram from Mr. Moran, our Cliarg6 d'Affaires 
at London, dated London, Sunday morning, 
January 29 : 

" The German Ambassador here has offi- 
cially informed me that the capitulation of 
all the Paris forts, and an armistice of three 
weeks by land and sea. was signed about 8 
o'clock last evening, at Versailles, by Count 
Bismarck and Jules Favre. The Army of 
Paris will remain prisoners of war in the 
city, but it is not known whether they are to 
be disarmed or not. No details have yet 
been received. Count Bernstoff thinks it an 
important fact that the armistice extends 
over the sea, and that it should be made 
known as widely as possible." 

THE EMPEROS TO THE EMPRESS. 

The Emperor William sent the follow- 
ing telegraphic dispatch to the Empress 
Augusta : 

"Versailles, 2 p. m., Sunday. 

"Last night an armistice for three weeks 
*a8 signed. The Regulars and Mobiles are 
to be interned in Paris as prisoners of war. 



The National. Guard will undertake the 
maintenance of order. We occupy all the 
forts. Paris remains invested, but will be 
allowed to revictual as soon as arms are 
surrendered. 

"The National Assembly is to be sum- 
moned to meet at Bordeaux in a fortnight. 
All the armies in the field will retain their 
respective positions, the ground between 
opposing lines to be neutral. 

" This is the reward of patriotism, heroism, 
and great sacrifices. Thank God for this 
fresh mercy ! May peace soon follow. 

WiLHELM." 

THE BONAPARTES. 

Bismarck, alluding to the reported negoti- 
ations between Napoleon and the. Prussian 
Government, says the Emperor refers every- 
thing to the Regency. He (Bismarck) 
denies that he has ever negotiated for a 
restoration of the Bonapartes, or that he 
intends to interfere in the domestic concerns 
of France. 

The Times publishes, by request from 
Chiselhurst, a denial of its statement that 
intrigues were goings on between Bismarck 
and the Bonapartists for the restoration of 
the latter. 

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF GEN. BOURBAEI. 

Bourbaki attempted to commit suicide 
after the defeat at Belfort. His injuries 
were so severe that his life was despaired of. 
Many bands of soldiers, who had separated 
from the French armies, were scattered 
along the Swiss frontier. 

It was officially announced that Gen. 
Clinchart has been appointed to the com- 
mand of the First Army, in place of Gen. 
Bourbaki, no longer able to perform active 
service. 

Bourbaki's loss in his attacks upon Gen. 
Von Werder's army was fully 10,000 men. 
There was great suffering among the French, 
and their sick and wounded were abandoned 
by the retreating army. 

The free-shooters surprised a party of 
Uhlans, and captured a god-son of the Era- 
press Augusta. They refused to exchange 
him for a French prisoner, and placed him in 
hospital. 

The town of Sable, 27 miles west south- 
west of Le Mans, was occupied by 2,000 
Germans, with artillery and cavalry, 

'J'he number of French prisoners of war in 
Gei-many on the 1st of January was 11,160 
officers and 333.885 men. 

Prince Frederick William will hereafter be 
styled " Imperial Highness and Crown Prince 
of Germany." 

It was reported from Basle that numbers 
of Gen. Bourbaki's army were crossing the 
frontier armed, at Bruntrut and Neuenburg. 

An official dispatch to the Baden Ministry 
stated that the army of Gen. Bourbaki had 
entered Switzerland, crossing the border 
near Bruntrut. The reported attempt of 
Bourbaki to commit suicide was confirmed. 



100 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



POSTAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PAEI8 
AND LONDON BEOFENED. 

GREAT DISTRESS III PARIS — THE PRUSSIANS DRIVlirO 
CATTLE INTO THE CITV — DEMONSTRATION AGAINST 
THE ARMISTICE 18 THE FBOTXMCES — LYONS STILL 
BELLIGKRBNT.' 

The execution of the terms of the conven- 
tion between Favre and Bismarck proceeded 
on January 29th without interruption. 

The armistice in France began instantly at 
Paris, and three days later in the depart- 
ments, and expired at noon of Feb. 19th. 
The line of division between the German and 
French forces sej)arates into two portions 
each of the departments of Calvados and 
Orne. The Germans held those of the 
Sarthe, Indre et Loire, Loire et Cher, Loiret, 
and Youne. The neighborhood of the Jura 
^as excepted from the provisions of the Ar- 
mistice, which included the naval forces of 
both Powers in all parts of the world. 
. The terms of the capitulation were that 
the prisoners of war were to remain in Paris 
during the armistice, having first surrend- 
ered their arms ; — The National Guards and 
Gendarmes to retain their arms, as also the 
police; — All Francs-tireurs were to be dis- 
ibanded ; — German prisoners to be exchanged ; 
— The public funds to remain in Paris. 

The distress in Paris was very great, and 
the destruction of the railways impeded the 
revictnall ing of the city. The Germans mean- 
while, supplying articles of the first necessity 
from their own stores, and driving cattle into 
the city. 

Immense quantities of provisions were 
forwarded from Brussels to Paris, and great 
^efforts made to restore the railways. 

Bismarck notified the British Foreign OfiBce 
ihat the Dieppe line alone was available for 
the transportation of provisions to Paris; 
but that, until sufficient supplies could be re- 
ceived, the Germans should share their stores 
with the citizens. 

Postal commimication between London 
and Paris was reopened on the 30th of 
January. 

M. Gambetta forwarded a dispatch by 
telegraph to M. Favre at Versailles, request- 
ing him to break the silence maintained by 
the Paris Government ; to state the name of 
the Minister whose coming to Bordeaux had 
been announced, and the motives of the 
delay in his movements ; and to give 
precise information respecting the condition 
of Paris. 

Demonstrations occurred in several French 
t,owns against both the armistice and any 
mutilation of the territory of France. • The 
muaicipality of Lyons appeared to maintain 
its resistance to the Germans, and sent a 
deputation to Bordeaux to urge the adoption 
of general measures for the same object. 

The armistice astounded the people of the 
North of France. Though the general im- 
pression was rather favorable than other- 
wise, there was a feeling of uncertainty as to 
the future and a desire to wait ibr the con- 



ditions of peace before dociding upon plans 
for the future. 

Count Bismarck left France after the 
meeting of the National Assembly at Bor- 
deaux. The Germans enforced rigid passport 
regulations during the armistice. The 46th 
Prussian Regiment occupied Fort du Mont 
Val6rien. 

The Echo du Nord asserted that a General 
of the Army of Paris committed suicide. No 
name was given however. 

BOUBBAEI SUSBOTTNDED BT MANTETJFFEL'S 
ABMY. 

THREE THOUSAND PRISONERS AND SIX CANNON AL- 
REAOT CAPTURED — ADVANCE Ol* THE rSBNCH 
SOUTH or THE LOIRE. 

General Manteuffel inclosed the army of 
Bourbaki on the Swiss frontier. He over- 
took the retreating French west of Pontarlier 
and captured Chappoy and Sombrecourt, 
with 3,000 prisoners and six pieces of artil- 
lery. 

As the French forces were again advancing 
south of the Loire, the Prussians destroyed 
the bridge at Blois. This stopped the ad- 
vance, and the French subsequently retreated 
southward. The Fourth Prussian Reserve 
took 200 prisoners at Pattevant. 

The Germans invested Abbeville, notwith- 
standing the armistice. 

The following article from the French 
Organ of News, published in New York city, 
we must comment upon : 

The Guurrter des Ekats Unis counsels 
present submission by France to the terms 
of peace dictated . by Germany, with a view 
to the renewal of the war whenever France 
shall feel able to cope once more with her 
now triumphant antagonist. It says : 

" When we state that * the armistice is the 
end of the war, it is our opinion and our 
desire,' we mean that if hard pressed by the 
fight, mutilated by the sword, charred by the 
fire, we are ready to abandon the arms, the 
fragments of which alone the fortune of war 
has left in our hands, it is because we wish 
to preserve in our veins enough blood to 
maintain life ; it is that we wish to preserve 
respiration enough to revive us, to recover 
breath, to regain our strength, to await our 
opportunity, and then when the hour has 
come to seize our enemy by the throat and 
avenge ourselves. That is savage. Yes. 
It makes civilization recoil, and retards that 
beautiful humanitarian theory of the aboli- 
tion of war. Certainly. If we are to be 
barbarians, be it so. The world will point 
their finger at us. What matters it ? We 
have done enough for the prosperity of peace, 
for the arts, for science, for industry, for the 
progress of humanity. What has humanity- 
done for us ? What advantage have we de- 
rived from the disinterested services which 
we have rendered the civilized world ? We 
have not even obtained barren sympathy ; 
for there is no people which does not smile 
at onr downfall, and only isolated voices in 
charity dole out to us a few words of pity. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



101 



There will be a truce, but no durable peace 
for generations who groan beneath their yoke. 
France — like those maimed, who suffer after 
a limb is amputated from imaginary pain in 
the severed members — will have no rest 
until its fragments be collected into the 
original whole. So much the worse for Eu- 
rope, if it trembles at our convulsions. We 
have no longer any bowels of compassion, 
no heart save for ourselves. — What matters 
it to us, the agitation and the disturbances 
of others ? We had enough of chivalry, 
«nough of generosity, enough of sacrifice 
and disinterestedness for others. We are 
egotists now, and henceforth will only dream 
of our scattered members, children separated 
from us, the flesh of our flesh violently torn 
away from our quivering body. All is not 
yet ruined, thank God. But even were all 
buried under lava and ashes — as the giant 
Eucelades, fettered beneath Etna, would yet 
upheave the monsters heaped above our 
heads — let no one trust to that peace which 
it is presumed will follow. Whoever be the 
rulers to come — kings or people, emperors 
or tribunes — they will be applauded by 
France only on condition that they espouse 
its hate and its vengeance. Misfortune to 
him who woiild think of building up a Power 
on our ruins. It would, perhaps, remain xip- 
•right so long as we were too feeble to dash 
it down, but at the first movement of our 
renewed strength all would topple down and 
mingle in the dust. Let it be said so. France 
is going to have a National Assembly, which 
will give it a government and probably a 
Republican one. The Republican must 
thange its device, and instead of the words 
' lAherte, Egallte, Frate^-nite' let it inscribe 
on its banner the antithesis of the" Empire, 
'The Republic ts War.^ " 

The above may be right or wrong, wise or 
foolish, Christian or heathen, but we cannot 
doubt it is perfectly sincere as well as exceed- 
ingly human. We do not presume to rebuke 
or to criticisg it. The remark it suggests to 
us is simply this : It is a complete Justifica- 
tion of the German policy and exactions. It 
fully justifies Ranke's response to Thiers' 
remonstrance : "Against what are you Ger- 
mans now fighting ?" — "Against Louis XIV., 
Monsieur." 

Germany says to France : " You fought 
me when ray household was distracted and 
at deadly feud, and. playing part of it against 
the rest, you conquered, humbled, despoiled 
us. You wrested from us Strasbourg, one 
of onr great historic cities, the goodly Rhine 
lands of Alsace, the fair valleys of Lorraine, 
S)ur natural defences of the Vosges. Now 
that we are united, powerful, triumphant, we 
propose to reclaim them." 

" But consider how long ago these acqui- 
sitions were made by us," pleads France ; 
"how firmly they have been incorporated 
into our life and heart — how their people, 
though German in lineage and speech, are 
French in every impulse, every fibre of their 
being " 



We have felt these latter considerations 
entitled to some weight, but the Courrier 
says not. It assumes that no statute of 
limitations can be set up in bar of a claim 
of France to a restoration of provinces that 
the fortunes of war first gave her, and then 
took away again. If she gains territory by 
ever so unjust a war, it is hers thenceforth, 
and forever, and whoever retakes it must 
understand that she will never rest till she 
reconquers it. If this is to be her rule, we 
apprehend that the Universal Peace Society 
must count her out of the list of its support- 
ers in the present or in the immediate future. 

THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLIES. 

PREVIOUS CONVOCATIONS — REQUIREMENTS AND RE- 
SULTS. 

The convocation of the representatives of 
a nation is usually an occasion of supreme 
importance ; but in France it marks an era 
in history, because its object is to construct 
a new Constitution. The order for an elec- 
tion for a Constituent Assembly is among 
the first acts of the present Provisional 
Government of France. As soon as it meets, 
the Provisional Government will probably — 
as in 1848 — resign its powers into the hands 
of the Assembly, who will proceed to provide 
both a Government and a Constitution. 
Hence the circumstances under which the 
two preceding Constituent Assemblies were 
convoked, and the works they effected are of 
extreme interest in their relation to the pre- 
sent occasion; While it is the belief and 
hope of the best friends of France that the 
coming Assembly will give her a Republican 
form of government, it will yet be within the 
powers conferred upon the Assembly by the 
people to make their country once more a 
monarchy, or even an empire. 

France, in 1785-6, was seething with dis- 
content. The fires of the First Revolution 
were smouldering beneath the mass. Louis 
XV. had left the legacy of quarrels with 
Parliaments to his successor, with the cau- 
tion, " Let iny grandson take care of them, 
for it is more than probable they will endan- 
ger the crown ;" and the Abb6 Perigord, 
afterward to become illustrious as the prince 
of diplomatists, Talleyrand, had just remarked 
that the " miserable aflair of the diamond 
necklace may overturn the throne." The 
extreme deficiencies in the finances of the 
State had compelled the convening of the 
Assembly of Notables for the purpose of 
levying incre^ised taxation. In dismissing 
that assemblage, which had come together 
from all parts of the kingdom, the Arch- 
bishop of Toulouse made the startling an- 
nouncement of the coming change — that the 
Tiers-Etat, i. e., the people, as a matter of 
justice, should be represented by another 
assembly of a number of votes equal to that 
of the clergy and nobles taken together. 

Marshal Segur said to the King that the 
assembling of the Notables might be the seed 
of the States-General ; if so, it M-as of rapid 
growth, for the pressure of both nobles and 



102 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



clergy compelled, in August, 1788, the order 
for the convocation of the national estates or 
States-General for the 1st of May, 1789. 
Each of the three estates, nobles, clergy, and 
people, expected to control this assemblage, 
which was elective, and, so far as the Tiers- 
Etat was concerned, resulted in the selection 
of representatives of the popular will. Nec- 
kar, tlie Prime Minister, procured the autho- 
rization by the King's Council of the mea- 
sure which doubled the number of the depu- 
ties representing the Tiers-Etat, The as- 
semblage of the representatives of the three 
Estates thus collected on the 5th of May, 
1789, was composed of 1,128 persons, and 
was called also the Constituent Assembly. 

It consisted of 293 representatives of the 
clergy, 270 of the nobles, and 565 of the Tiers- 
Etat, thus quite realizing the proportion of 
numbers to the latter named by the Arch- 
bishop of Toulouse. Of the representatives 
of the clergy, more than two-thirds were 
cur^s; 62 out of 108 mayors and magistrates 
in the Assembly were elected by the people, 
and from the latter there came also 279 law- 
yers. It will be perceived that the prepon- 
derance of intellectual activity, as well as of 
numbers, might naturally be expected on the 
side of the Tiers-Etat. One of the earliest 
measures taken by the representatives of the 
people was an attempt to draw a dividing 
liue ; on the 17th of June, 1789, they took to 
themselves separately the title of the Na- 
tional Assembly, and Neckar prepared a plan 
for a constitution, in which the distinction 
was further indicated by providing for their 
meetings in a different chamber from the 
nobles and clergy. But, five days afterward, 
148 of the clergy left the rest and joined 
themselves to the National Assembly. An 
endeavor to disperse the States-General on 
the part of the King was resisted by the Na- 
tional Assembly ; immediately 46 nobles, 
among whom was the Duke of Orleans, fol- 
lowed in the footsteps of the clergy, and went 
over to the resisting body, and at last the 
King ordered the remainder of the nobles 
and clergy to join the opposition, and the 
National Assembly embraced all the mem- 
bers of- the States-General. 

There were, however, two other import- 
ant classes who already endeavored to con- 
test the Government with the Crown and 
the National Assembly — the army of France 
and the populace of Paris. Treachery 
among the troops has ever been coincident 
with disasters to the French Monarchy.' 
The National Assembly, if it did clearly pei-- 
ceive the distinction between the voice of 
the people and the violence of the mob, was 
powerless to quell the Parisian insurgents, 
who, in the successful storming of the Bas- 
tile, on the 14th of July, 1789, learned alike 
the power of the populace and the weakness 
of the crown. But with these insurrectionary 
movements, which afterward extended to 
other cities, and with the formation of the 
National Guard, which dates from that day, 
began the growth of that military spirit and 



training which eventually made France a 
nation of soldiers. On the 8th of October 
following, the mob seized the person of the 
King and conducted him, virtually their 
prisoner, from Versailles to Paris, where he 
was permanently detained in obedience to 
the popular behest. On the 20th June, 1791, 
the King attempted an escape, but was 
arrested at Varennes and reconducted to 
Paris by three commissioners from the 
National Assembly. That body the next 
day passed a decree suspending temporarily 
his kingly functions. It would have been 
far better for France to have permitted his 
escape. These acts were unquestionably 
among the gravest political errors of the 
Assembly, and can only be regarded as 
weak concessions to the violent expressions 
of popular sentiment. 

The great work accomplished by the Con- 
stituent Assembly was the overthrow of the 
feudal forms of government and the recogni- 
tion of the rights of man. Its enactments 
provided for extended suffrage; for reforms 
in the systems of law and administration of 
justice, including the introduction of trial 
by jury ; they secured liberty of religious 
worship, and confiscated church property; 
they placed taxation on a broader basis, and 
secured a better foundation for the finances 
of the country ; they changed the law of in- 
heritance, and provided for the distribution 
of landed property to the untitled classes. 
The Assembly prepared a Constitution for 
France, which was intended to secure to that 
country the advantages of a limited mon- 
archy. On the 14th of September, 1791, the 
King, having been restored by the Assembly 
to the exercise of his functions and to his 
personal freedom, declared in public his ac- 
ceptance of the Constitution amid great 
popular enthusiasm. Its work accomplished, 
on the 29th of the same month the Assembly 
declared its sittings closed. With a view to 
a more exact representation of the people, 
the Assembly saci'ificed itself by making its- 
members ineligible as candidates to the next 
Assembly. With the close of the Constitu- 
ent Assembly it therefore resulted that those 
representatives who had learned much of the . 
governing art in the stormy twenty-nine 
months of its existence no longer p,ermitted 
themselves to exercise their knowledge for 
the benefit .of their country. They were suc- 
ceeded by the Legislative Assembly, wliick, 
opened its sittings within two days after the 
Constituent Assembly was closed. But the 
new legislators were a very difi'erent class of 
men from their predecessors; a monarchy, 
however limited, no longer met the require- 
ments of the nation, and the Constitution of 
J791 was soon superseded. 

A brief review of the legislative bearings 
of the revolution of 1830, the abdication of 
Charles X. and the accession of Louis 
Philippe, will throw light upon the circum- 
stances of the convocation of the second 
Constituent Assembly. Charles X. yielded 
to the force of a revolution incited by iiL-' 



THE FRANCO-GEliMAN WAR. 



103 



-o^vn refusal to comply with the cpnstraints 
of a limited momircliy. Though perhaps au- 
thorized by the letter of the Constitution 
under which the monarchy was re-established 
in 1813, he yet opposed its spirit, and made 
a {i^reat political blunder by refusing, even 
after effecting a dissolution and re-election of 
the Chamber of Deputies, to select his Min- 
istry from among their number. lie and his 
advisers were unpopular with his subjects, 
being suspected of yielding to the influence 
of the Jesuits. When the crisis came, he 
badly managed the means at his command, 
and the defection of the troops of the line, 
upon whom he depended, enabled the Liberal 
party to accoiwpli.^h his overthrow. After 
his abdication, three parties presented them- 
selves for popular favor. But the horrors of 
the first revolution were still remembered 
against the Republicans ; the disasters which 
had so recently followed the ruin of the Em- 
pire were a drawback to the Napoleonists, 
who otherwise would have pressed the claims 
of Napoleon II.. then an officer in the Austrian 
service. The leading politicians, especially 
those in the chamber of Deputies, leaned for 
want of an alternative toward the position of 
the Orleanists. The Duke of Orleans was 
dressed as a bourgeois and prepared for flight, 
having sent to Charles X. a letter of assurance 
that he would not take his place on the va- 
cant tlyone, when a deputation forced their 
way into his apartments and insisted upon 
his acceptance of the crown. " QiCil accepte," 
was announced thus briefly by the chief 
of the deputation to Talleyrand. He be- 
came " King of the French " in August, 
1830, being first called Philippe Vil., and 
afterward Louis Philippe. * 

The Liberals considered that as they had 
effected the revolution which placed him on 
the throne, they had a special hold upon 
Louis Philippe. His entire reign was marked 
by a series of political attacks upon the 
Government, usually with an outcry for re- 
form as the entering wedge. In the Chambers 
from 1831 to 1839 there were but few petitions 
for electoral reform, but parliamentary reform 
was brought forward eleven times for dis- 
cussion; the intent being to reduce the num- 
ber of Deputies. In the great public debate 
between Arago and Thiers, May 16, 1840, in 
■which the former advocated universal suffrage, 
a great impulse was given to .questions of 
popular sovereignty ; and from 1840 to 1847 
both electoral and parliamentary reform were 
perpetually under discussion. 

The accidental death, July 13, 1842, of the 
son of Louis Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, 
a young man of great promise and of per- 
sonal popularity, weakened the hold of the 
king upon the heart of the nation. After 
that, every weakness, every timidity, ex- 
hibited by Louis Philippe was accounted 
against him as a crime. A strong opposi- 
tion to his Government was organized. The 
Republican Opposition desired universal suf- 
frage ; the Monarchical Opposition attacked 
his general policy These joined hands in 



1847 to call in popular excitement to their 
aid. The Chateau Rouge banquet took 
place July 9, 1847, and was given by the 
combined opposition. Banquets of this 
character were repeated throughout the 
cities of the kingdom, and the agitation of 
questions of reform penetrated the remotest 
districts. This was the "Campatgne des 
Banquets:' On the 11th of February. 1848, 
the Cabinet deliberately spurned both ques- 
tions of reform, and on the 13th' denied the 
right of political meeting without govern- 
mental authority. To test this assumption, a 
grand banquet was arranged and proclaimed 
by the Opposition for the 22d February. It 
was suppressed by the authorities, and at 
the last moment the Opposition announced 
that it would not take place. But Paris was 
aroused, 'i'he people suspected, says Lamar- 
tine, that Louis Philippe was a believer in 
the divine right of kings. He was luipopu- 
lar because he was a king. On the 23d of 
February there were barricades in the Fau- 
bourg St. Antoine and crowds crying " Vive 
la R6forme !" In the evening the crowds 
had a leader, Lagrange by name, who brought 
them into the neighborhood of the Cafe Tor- 
toni. A battalion of the line, drawn up in 
front of the Hotel of Foreign Affairs, fired 
into this mob that was carrying torches and 
a red flag, and sixteen corpses of citizens 
were stretched upon the sidewalk. The next 
day the barricades surrounded the Palace 
and approaches of the Tuileries. Louis 
Philippe had just time to escape from a rear 
door, after arranging the form of an abdica- 
tion, when a column of the people broke 
through the Guards, filled the apartments, 
and swept away every trace of royalty. 

The Republic was proclaimed very much 
in the same style as during the present year, 
at the Hotel de Ville, a Provisional Govern- 
ment being constituted by Lamartine, who 
subsequently became Minister of Foreign 
Affairs ; Dupont de I'Eure, whose age and 
dignity made him a fitting presiding' officer ; 
Arago* to whom were comra-itted Naval 
Affairs ; Cr^raieux, ultimately Minister of 
Justice ; all the foregoing being carried to 
the scene of their triumph almost on the 
shoulders of the crowd. Ledru-Rollin, 
Marie, who received the portfolio of Public 
Works, and Garnier-Pages, obtained entrance 
and were added to the number. General 
Subervie was made Minister of War, Carnot 
of Public Instruction, and Goudehaux (a 
banker) of Finance ; but th^ last-named 
individual became frightened at the gath- 
ering storms a few days afterwards, and 
Gamier-Pages, who at first was made 
Mayor of Paris, took his place. It will be 
perceived that the Liberals, who brought 
about the revolution which placed Louis 
Philippe on the throne, were themselves dis- 
appointed at his failure to meet the views of 
the people, and chagrined at the position in 
which they were placed as his supporters. 
Hence his fall. The " citizen monarch " ex- 
perienced also as had the two previous 



104 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



Kings of France, the defection of the troops, 
as well as the dislike of the people. He and 
the Queen embarked at Honfleur for Havre 
on the 2d of March 1848, under the names 
of " Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and thns entitled 
sailed a<?ain from Havre to England. 

The Provisional Government were em- 
barrassed by financial difficulties growing out 
of general distrust of the new order of things 
and the distress among the working people 
of France. An attempt to increase the 
direct taxes excited universal indignation. 
To calm the storm, a decree was passed, con- 
voking the Constituent Assembly. The 
number of its members was fixed at 900 ; the 
Convention of 1793 being taken as the model. 
The convocation was ordered for and took 
place on the 4th of May, 1848, being the 
59th anniversary of that of the States- 
General of 1799. M. Buchez was the first 
president. On the Loth of May the sitting 
of the Constituent Assembly was invaded by 
an insurgent force of citizens, who took pos- 
session of the hall, and the Assembly retired. 
The insurrectionists attempted to form a 
new Provisional Government, but were put 
down by force of arms, 3,000 insurgents sur- 
rendering without bloodshed. A more for- 
midable insurrection, in which the starving 
workingmen whom the Provisional Govern- 
ment had been unable to supply with work 
and pay, and who had suffered still more 
after that Government resigned, upon the 
formation of the Assembly, had by the 24th 
of June filled Paris with barricades, and the 
Assembly appointed Cavaignac Dictator. It 
is believed that upward of 20,000 persons 
were killed in the scenes of conflict and car- 
nage wliich ensued during two or three days 
following. 

By November 4, 1848, the important work 
of the Constituent Assembly was concluded, 
and the new constitution, which organized 
the Government of France as a Republic, 
■was adopted and proclaimed. The value of 
this work was impaired by a single great de- 
fect; it gave too much power to the Presi- 
dent of the Republic, and it permitted his 
continuous re-election. This was the more 
inexciisable. because already Louis Napoleon, 
whose ambition for empire was more than 
suspected, was the prominent candidate, and 
it was well-known that Cavaignac, his princi- 
pal competitor, stood no chance of election. 
On the 10th of December, 1848, eighteen days 
before the announcement of the election of 
Napoleon, the Constituent Assembly was 
-dissolved. 

FRANCE IN 1814. 

HOW THE ALLIES ENTERED PARIS. 

Although •' the Spanish ulcer," as Napo- 
leon Bonaparte himself termed the Penin- 
sular War, unquestionably sapped his military 
strength to a considerable extent, his down- 
fall and the capture of Paris is more directly 
traceable to the disastrous campaign in Rus- 
sia. Of an array of more than half a million 
of men, not one-tenth part surviving the hor- 



rors of tlBs retreat from Moscow, retreated' 
through Prussian territory, pursued by the 
victorious Russians, in the Spring of 1813. 
This had the ultimate effect of emancipating 
Prussia from the control of France. Since 
the battle of Jena, Prussia had suffered every 
indignity at the hands of her conqueror. 
Her territory had been divided. The first 
requisition of money imposed upon her after 
her great defeat, amounting to $130,000,000, 
had been vigorously and mercilessly enforced. 
The vast armies of Napoleon had been quar- 
tered upon and marched across her fertile 
valleys and had devoured and destroyed the 
accumulations and means of subsistence of 
large sections of the country, utterly impov- 
erishing the unfortunate inhabitants. The 
people had begun to doubt the wisdom of 
their king in submitting to a despotism which 
already inflicted greater exactions upon its 
forced allies than injuries upon its open foes. 
Upon the expectation that a rebellion against 
the alliance and yoke of France would be at- 
tempted, the people of Prussia hailed the 
occupation of Berlin by the Russians, regard- 
ing the latter as deliverers from French op- 
pression; and throughout Prussia, with an 
outburst of patriotic ardor, the people flew to 
armfe. A coldness was manifested by Napo- 
leon toward the King of Prussia because of 
this attitude of the subjects of the latter ; 
Napoleon did not believe in the expressions 
of good faith on the part of King William, 
and alienated the King's friendship by the 
expression of his suspicions. The King took 
offence at last, and thus was precipitated Sk 
treaty between Prussia and Russia that 
formed the nucleus of that Great Alliance 
which, when ultimately cemented by defeats 
as well as victories, clustering the armies of 
all Europe upon French soil, broke the power 
of France and destroyed the empire of Napo- 
leon. 

'i'he battle of Leipsic, itself a victory con- 
sequent upon the growth of the alliance, may 
be regarded in some respects as the first step 
of the advance of the allies upon Paris. The 
battle of Hanau which followed a few days 
after that of Leipsic was the last battle fought 
by Napoleon beyond the Rhine. The cam- 
paign which thereafter ensued in the early 
months of 1814 when the armies on either 
side of. the Rhine had enjoyed short rest and 
recuperatioil in winter quarters, has many 
features in common with the present war, as 
well in the locality of the operations as in 
the probable ultimate results. 'I'o trace in 
detail the various steps by which principally 
during the year 1813-the Great Alliance was 
formed, would require the narration of the 
entire history of Europe during one of her 
most eventful years. Suffice it that the 
gravitating force which attracted the nations 
to the alliance grew with its accretions, and 
to Prussia and Russia there were eventually 
added Sweden and Austria ; Bavaria and the 
other Germanic States, even Saxony, being 
forced in; Naples and Denmark yielded to a 
I species of necessity, while its numbers were 




AN INCIDENT DURING THE SIEGE OP PARIS— SHOOTING OF MISS LOUISE 
VINOES, AND TWO OTHER YOUNG LADIES, SUSPECTED AS BEING SPIES. 

Sin SSorfalt iwa^rent) t»cr 33clagcrung i>on ^axis. — 9J?i^ Souifc SBinocS 
unt) jwei anterc junge !Dflmcn, aU <Spionc i)ert)a«^tigt, njuvt>en crfc^offen* 



THE rRA.NCO-QERMAN WAR 



105 



-.flwt'lled by the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, 
and English, the last bringing in addition tot 
numbers, the " sinewn of war." 

The plan of that campaign, like that of the 
present year, consisted in the advance of 
three armies upon France. The " grand 
army "under Prince Schwartzenherg. 2.'iO,- 
000 strong, advanced through Switzerland 
(with the perrtiisaion of that State) by the 
passes of the Jura Mountains into France. 
Blucher's "Army of Silesia," 140.000 strong, 
moved by way of Mayence, merely block- 
ading that town, into the "champagne coun- 
try." Bernadotte had the "Army of the 
North." 175.000 strong, and passing through 
Flanders, was to besiege Antwerp, reduce 
the Low Countries or secure iheir alliance, 
and enter France from the extreme north. 
The grand army and Blucher's army of Silesia 
crossed the Rhine in December. 1813. The 
principal portion of the grand army swept 
with a wide front through Lorraine, its ex- 
treme right-wing in its movement touching 
or lapping the southern edge of the path, 
■which in the present war has been selected 
by the army of the Crown Prince after the 
defeat of Ma<;Mahon at Woerth, and thus 
passed into the plains of Burgundy, endan- 
gering the city of Lyons. Blucher's array 
left large detachments to mask or reduce 
Metz, Saar Louis, Thionville and Luxem- 
burg, and pushed his advanced forces to 
Vitry and St. Dizier. 

Napoleon was prompt in providing to meet 
the impending dangers. He left an Empress 
Regent and an infant son in Paris, and went 
forward on the 2.Tth of January to the head- 
quarters of his army at Chalons. The next 
day he advanced to Vitry, and on the follow- 
ing, resuming his march, he met and de- 
feated a portion of Blucher's forces at St. 
Dizier. cutting in two Blucher's army, whose 
headquarters had at that time advanced be- 
yond, about twenty-eight miles southwest, 
to Brienne. The next day Blucher narrowly 
escaped being crushed by the sudden onset 
of the forces which Napoleon hurried to 
Brienne. By the 1st of February Schwart- 
^enberg and Blucher had joined their forces. 
In the battles of Brienne and La Rothifere, 
Napoleon was for the first time defeated on 
the soil of France, and retreated to Troyes. 

Instead of promptly pursuing Napoleon, 
the Allies, who were embarrassed about the 
subsistence of such large forces, divided their 
armies again. Prince Schwartzenberg in a 
leisurely way — for it was winter, and the 
roads were in a frightful condition—started 
for Troyes. Blucher directed his forces to- 
ward a point about half way on the road from 
Cli&lons to Paris. Napoleon left a small 
force as a feint of defence at Troyes to serve 
AS a scare-crow to Schwartzenberg, and, by 
A forced march over a rugged district, struck 
Blucher's forces on their road to the River 
Marae, defeating them in detail at Champau- 
bert, Montmirail and Vauchamps in a locality 
from thirty to thirty-five miles west of Cha- 
lons, Meanwhile Schwartzenberg marched 



slowly into Troyes, thenee to Nogent, Bray, 
and Montereau, sweeping everything south 
of Paris, and producing great alarm in that 
capital. Napoleon, spurred by the exigency, 
marched his forces westward between the 
Seine and the Marne, and striking the flank 
of Schwartzenberg's advance along the for- 
mer river, defeated detachment after detach- 
ment in detail until Schwartzenberg became 
thoroughly alarmed, asked an armistice and 
retreated back to Troyes. The battle of 
Montereau, in which the Prince of Wlirtem- 
berg was defeated, was the last battle Napo- 
leon ever won ; but for a while his star was 
in the ascendant, and in the councils of the 
Allies a retreat beyoiftj the Rhine was under 
consideration. 

At last a portion of the "Array of the 
North," which had not met with success at 
Antwerp, added its weight to the allied forces 
operating in France. Its advanced guard, 
under Winzengerode and Bulow, directed 
their march toward Paris, passing through 
what is now the Department of the Nord, 
capturing in their course, with extraordinary 
rapidity, the cities of Avisnes, Laon. Soisso»s, 
and Rheims, and opened communications 
with Blucher at Chalons, who was busy re- 
cuperating his shattered forces. But the 
proposed retreat of the grand army required 
Blucher's presence at 'Troyes with Schwart- 
zenberg. The grand army retreated beyond 
Chaumont on the way to Langres, but, for- 
tunately, it was decided at a council of war 
to liberate Blucher from their movements, 
and to permit his army to cooperate with 
that portion of the Army of the North which 
had advanced into France. Blucher was to 
follow the River Marne ; Schwartzenberg. if 
he advanced asrain, the Seine. This meaaura 
turned the scale of success. 

Napoleon followed Blucher, who started 
for the same point, between Chalons and 
Paris, on the road to which he had before 
been so unfortunate. But this time he got 
to the right bank of the Marne. at Meaux : 
and when the Emperor reached its left bank 
at that place, it was but to find the bridges 
demolished, and the rear guard of- the army 
of Silesia fast disappearing over the distant 
hills. Bluctier had heard of his approach 
while Napoleon was yet at Sezanne, and 
succeeded in reaching Soissons in safety. 
A series of battles and severe engagements 
between Napoleon's forces and Blucher's 
army of Silesia, re-enforced by the large de- 
tachments of the Army of the North under 
Winzejigerode and Bulow, took place in the 
vicinity of Laon, Soissons, and Rheims. 
Separately, these battles were indecisive, but 
they continually weakened Napoleon. He 
was, moreover, in perpetual fear of the ad- 
vance of Schwartzenberg with tlie grand 
army, which, returning from its proposed 
retreat, passed again through Troyes. At 
length he found it necessary to cross the 
Marne to meet it. After an indecisive en- 
gagement at Acis-sur-Aube, Napoleon un-r 
dertook to get behind Schwartzenberg and 



106 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



strike his line of communications in the 
rear. 

This movement of Napoleon threw open 
the road to Paris by way of Sezanne to the 
grand army of Schwartzenberg, and they 
seized the advantage. Blucher came down 
from the north at the same time, to strike a 
large portioa of Napoleon's army that was 
marching to join him in his endeavor to 
strike the rear of J.he grand army. This 
part of Napoleon's array was met and utterly 
defeated at Fere Ohampenoise, and its broken 
fragments fled to Paris. The allies crossed 
the Marne near Meaux on the 28th of March, 
there completing the union of the three 
armies, and on the moaning of 30th March, 
1814, appeared before the barriers of Paris. 

The citizen-soldiers of Paris were of Httle 
value for defence, as Napoleon had never 
allowed them the use of arms. Such forces 
as could be collected were hurried to the 
front outside the city. Active fighting com- 
menced before daylight, and a tremendous 
battle took place, in which the allies, accord- 
ing to some statements, lost no less than 
18,600 men. At length the vast forces of 
the allies began to be collected upon the 
hills surrounding the town. They formed a 
crescent of six miles around the north and 
east sides of Paris, the extremities on either 
side touching the Marne and the Seine. 'J'he 
French army, convexly curved within this 
crescent, fought in vain against overwhelm- 
ing numbers, .and were forced back about 
noon upon the city, withdrawing within the 
barriers only when the order to stop firing 
was given, preparatory to capitulation. The 
hills overlooking Paris were now densely 
crowded with the victors, while 300 pieces 
of cannon were ready, as the Russians ex- 
pressed it, to make " Father Paris pay for 
Mother Moscow." 

In accordance with the instructions left 
by Napoleon, in the event of such a disaster, 
the Empress and the infant son left the city, 
taking the road to Rambouillet. The inhab- 
itants of Paris were plunged into sadness 
by her departure. Strange to say, when the 
city had capitulated they prepared to receive 
the conquerors with acclamation. A crowd 
insulted or destroyed the busts and monu- 
ments of Napoleon I., and endeavored, un- 
successfully, with a rope to pull down his 
statue from the column in the Place Ven- 
d6me. Failing in the latter undertaking, 
they wrapped it in a sheet — in order, said 
Napoleon, on hearing^4»f it, "that I might not 
look upon their baseness." The Emperor 
Alexander afterward felt obliged to "issue a 
proclamation to stop the demolition of the 
monuments of Napoleon. 

The next morning, the Allies, entering in 
procession, found the streets thronged, the 
windows and housetops crowded with the 
citizens anxioi^s to witness the great military 
sipectacle. No effort had been spared to 
give the " pomp and circtnnstance of glori- 
ous war" to the occasion, so far as the Allies 
were concerned. Uniforms had been brought 



by the household troops of the Emperor «f * 
I^ussia. kept clean and dry in their knapsacks, . 
with the expectation of making a display on- 
this occasion, and these were carefully put 
in order. Of course, the sovereigns them- 
selves were decked out with unusual care. 
Paris, ever alive to the elegance of a spec- 
tacle, went into raptures over the magnifi- 
cence displayed, and applauded the victorious 
host, and especially the monarchs. with the 
wildest enthusiasm. The Emperor Alexan- 
der had on his arm a white scarf, which he 
had previously worn as a distinctive badge 
in battle. The King of Prussia rode at his 
right, and Prince Schwartzenberg on his left, 
a brilliant staff following them. 

A group of " loyalists," who since morn- 
ing had been perambulating the streets of 
Paris with a white banner, met the sover- 
eigns with enthusiastic cries of Vive Louis 
Dix-huiti^me! Vive Alexander! Vive 
Guillaume I Large numbers of elegantly 
dressed ladies waved their handkerchiefs in 
welcome as one of their countrymen says, 
"with the passionate vivacity of their sex," 
from the hotels in the finest quarters of the 
city. In the Boulevard de la Madeleine, people^ 
stepped up and respectfully kissed the trap- 
pings of the horses, the sabres, and the boots 
of the sovereigns. Fifty thousand chosen 
troops of the Silesian and grand armies, with 
their trains oi" artillery, made the bulk of the 
procession. Nothing was more remarked 
than the admirable state of good order and 
equipment of the men and horses. The 
procession entered by the Gate and crossed 
the Faubourg of St. Martin, made the circuit 
of half of Paris by the interior boulevards, 
and halted in the Champs Elysees, where 
the Cossacks bivouacked for the night. Dur- 
ing the next day, April 1, Talleyrand called 
together the Senate. The day following the 
Senate received the Emperor Alexander, and 
on the 3d April passed decrees for a Provi- 
sional Government and dethroning the Em- 
peror, who, without an army and almost 
without attendants, had reached Fontaine-, 
bleau too late, if indeed it had been possible 
under any circumstance, to save his capital. 
In the formal treaty with Napoleon which the 
Allies made a few days afterward, upon his 
signing an abdication renouncing the Empire 
of France and the Kingdom of Italy for him- 
self and his descendants, it is noticeable that 
he was nevertheless permitted to retain the 
title of Emperor. * 

« 

; THE DEFENCES OF PARIS. 

MONTMARTRB AND LA VILLETTE — THE PLAIN OF ST. 
DENIS — THE WORK OP DEMOLITION. 

A resident of Paris sent a letter to 77ie 
Daily London News, on the 1st of January, 
describing some of the defences of Paris ; he 
says : " I devoted yesterday afternoon to an 
endeavor to form some notion of what 
chances Paris would have if it be attacked 
on the northern side. I first drove to Mont- 
martre. On the hill there was a formidable 
battery of artillery, which would throW balls 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



107 



' rer the fortifications .and sweep tlie plains 
%•{ St.. Donis. Tlie driver of my fiacre told 
me that he lived at lia Villette, and offered 
to drive me throngh that workingmen's quar- 
ter. In its wide streets tliere were groups 
of men in blouses, and all tlie cabarets were 
full of them. ' They are all out of work,' 
said the driver ; they ask for arms to defend 
the city, but the Government do not dare to 
give them muskets, for they never would 
surrender them before they had driven away 
not only the Prussians, but the Emperor 
also.' At the St. Denis gate, through which 
we passed, everything appeared ready for an 
attack. Here, as at the other gates, a trench 
had been cut across the road, a loopholed 
wall about two feet thick had been built, and 
earthworks, resembling a species of tUe de 
pont, had been thrown up. As we emerged 
from them the plain, of St. Denis, where Mar- 
mont with a few troops and the Parisian 
National Guard had held the Allies at bay 
in 1814 for eight hours, lay before us. To 
the right was the Fort d'Aubervilliers, in 
front of us St. Denis, and far ofif.to the left 
the fort of Mont Val^rien. At the villages 
of Aubervilliers and Courbevoie there were 
earthworks and batterie.s. Having heard that 
there were several regiments of the line at 
St. Denis, and being curious to see what was 
going on there, I proceeded in that direction. 
The town has a strong rampart round it, and, 
like Paris, is surrounded by external forts. 
To avoid suspicion I drove to the cathedral, 
and put myself under the wing of a guardian 
whose business it was to show the tombs of 
the Kings of France. This worthy man 
seemed to consider it quite natural that a 
stranger should choose this moment for sight- 
seeing. Round the outer door of the cathe- 
dral was a group of soldiers, and they accom- 
panied the guardian and myself in our tour 
inside. The guardian did not spare us one 
word of his ' ofttold tale,' and my soldier- 
friends appeared to listen to every syllable 
that fell from his lips with the deepest res- 
pect. These poor fellows, who no doubt on 
the field of battle will fight like heroes, were 
as peaceful and as quiet as a girls' school. 
As we went in and out of the church, they 
dipped their fingers in the holy water and 
crossed themselves ; and if by accident one 
of them uttered a word while we were inside, 
there was a loud 'hush' from the others. 
The guardian told me that every day for the 
last week he had shown several hundred sol- 
diers over the cathedral, and that they had 
all without exception, behaved in the same 
olrderly, decent manner. He said that there 
Tvere four regiments in the town, and that for 
the last week regiments passing north had 
succeeded each other every second day. 
Along the main street of the town a large 
ditch had been cut, with an earthwork behind 
it. ' The ramparts were lined with cannon, 
and trees were being cut down and houses 
palled down within the 'zone militaire.' Not 
only were the barracks crowded with troops, 
Dut in one of the squares a regiment was 



' encamped under tents. From St. Denis I 
drove through Argenteuil and Courbevoie. 
The country in this dirtection is divided into 
market gardens and vineyards. In the gar- 
dens and the vineyards I saw neither men 
nor women. In the towns, although the 
shops were still open, all the houses were 
shut up, except were the furniture was being 
placed in vans to be taken to Paris. All the 
villas were deserted. At Courbevoie there 
were two regiments. I returned to Paris by 
Neuilly. At the gate of Neuilly the work of 
demolition within the military zone had com- 
menced, jind, in a day or two, all the con- 
demned houses round the fortifications will 
be levelled. As I drove down the Champs 
Pjlys6es, I noted the number of soldiers who 
were lounging and sitting about. As far as 
I could make out, there were three of them 
for every civilian. Having a little more 
spare time on my hands, I passed through 
Paris, and went to the camp of St, Maur. On 
•both sides of the road squads of conscripts in 
new uniforms were being drilled. At St. 
Maur there was a large park of artillery, and 
several regiments of the line were camped 
where a few days ago I had seen the Gardes 
Mobiles." 

THE CONQTTEST OF FRANCE. 

A CRITICAL AND COMPLETE REVIEW OP THE GREAT 
CAMPAIGN OP 1870 — THE EFFECT ON EUROPE OP 
THE REDUCTION OP PRANCE TO A SECOND-RATE 
POWER — SUMMARY OP THE oftEAT EVENTS OF THE 
WAR, AND GENERAL REMARKS THEREON. 

Paris had now virtually fallen, and France 
was at the mercy of the Germans— rtheir 
spoil if they so willed it. The campaign of 
1870, vaingloriously proclaimed by those who 
precipitated the war, as that of " Paris h 
Berlin," has ended where few suspected it 
was to close — in the French, not the Prussian 
capital. It is not its most remarkable char- 
acteristic that the original plan of the cam- 
paign was completely reversed ; that the na- 
tion in the ofifensive should have been thrown 
so suddenly and irrecoverably on the defens- 
ive ; that the most peacefully disposed of 
nations should have proved for the occasion 
the most warlike ; and that an immense 
standing army, whose strength and martial 
spirit all Europe has feared for almost a gen- 
eration, should have been annihilated at a 
blow by an army marshalled on the instant, 
and whose existence was only suspected, 
whose power was never dreaded. The cam- 
paign of the Germans in France has been in 
every military aspect the most wonderful of 
modern times, dwarfing in the magnitude of 
its operations and the importance of its re- 
sults the most brilliant efforts of the great 
Frederick or the First Napoleon, and as 
such worthy of the most careful study and 
review. 

Let us no longer credit the stale fiction 
that the two nations went to war for a trivial 
point of honor. The candidature of the 
Prince of HohenzoUern we now know was 
not the cause but the" absurd pretext for 



108 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



war ; and it is to insult the nations themselves 
to look upon the conflict as precipitated by 
such a shallow cause, or brought about 
simply and solely by the ambition or criminal 
folly of one man. Opposing races, conflicting 
nationalities, antagonistic churches, commer- 
cial rivalries, competing civilizations, between 
whom was no natural love and much unnatural 
hate, clashed in this giant struggle. The 
conflict was inevitable ; theirs the credit 
who long postponed it ; theirs the crime who 
precipitated it. Napoleou and his people saw 
that the threatened success of German unity 
would destroy the political supremacy of 
of France ; and this fear won the nobility 
and landed proprietors of the Empire to the 
support of war on any pretest. 'I'he consoli- 
dation of the German armies, under the lead- 
ership and upon the military system of Prus- 
sia, whether accomplished by confederation 
or treaty, promised eventually to give Prussia 
military power greater than that of France, 
and this belief rendered the French army 
enthusiastic for war. The commercial projects 
of Germany — notably the Mount St. Gothard 
Railway, which as the rival of the Mont 
Oenis route, was to have united the German 
railway hues with those of Austria and Italy 
beyond the Alps — were absurdly thought to 
threaten tha commercial prosperity and im- 
portance of France ; and this roused to hatred 
and to action her industrial and commercial 
classes. The French CathoUc clergy have 
ever been the enemy of Protestant Germany, 
and persistently preached the crusade which 
Napoleon dreaded to declare and durst not 
oppose. The fallen Emperor was too much 
the coward, too absolute a knave, to have 
gone to war had not every social, commercial, 
and religious consideration urged the nation 
to the conflict. Wise statesmanship in 
Germany prevented the struggle three years 
ago, when the possession of Luxemburg was 
demanded by France, and would have post- 
poned it longer ; but weakness and folly in 
France, too criminal to be forgiven, permitted 
it to be inaugurated. 

The reorganization of the French army ; 
the interference in the Luisemburg afiair ; 
th-e opposition to the St. Gothard enterprise 
— all these and many other more trivial 
demonstrations have revealed the disposition 
of France to provoke her rival. Except in 
the thorough organization of her armies, 
Germany has betrayed nothing of eagerness 
for war ; yet she has diligently prepared for 
it. She accomplished by treaty that union 
of her several armies and secured that neu- 
trality of other nations which was necessary 
before she could accept the wage of war. 
Not being ready, she yielded in the matter 
of Luxemburg — hesitated in the St. Gothard 
project, but never halted in the work of or- 
ganizing the armies and perfecting the 
Union. France has been passionate, quar- 
relsome, and threatening, and has thus ap- 
peared always in the wrong. Germany, on 
the contrary, has shown a disposition to 
overlook insults for- the sake of peace, and, 



always calm and self-possessed, has managed 
to appear always in the right. But Kings 
and Emperors and their Premiers were but 
the insignificant instruments that brought 
about the struggle. It was, after all, a con- 
flict of civilizations seeking supremacy, and 
the weaker and worse has happily gone to 
the wall. No one can fail to see that it was 
a united nation which responded to the 
French declaration of war on July 15th, nor 
doubt that at the call of the Pnissian King 
United Germany extended its hearty support. 
The uprising of the two nations so different 
in character, fully committed them to the 
quarrel, and raised it to the dignity of a war 
of nations, not of monarchs. The summons 
to arms was received in France with the en- 
thusiasm, exultation, the boasting, that are 
characteristic of the French nature. In 
Germany, it was respon'ded to with that 
stern reticence, that serious determination, 
which belong to the German temperament. 
The one nation sprang up angry and defiant ; 
the other rose fierce and resolute. France 
had but one motive, to sustain her fading 
glory; Germany, to maintain her wounded 
honor. France, impulsively ; Germany, dog- 
gedly ; France, with passionate cries of rage j 
Germany, in stern and silent indignation — 
these are the characteristic outward evidences 
of the uprising which makes that of 1870 
there so exact a parallel of that of 1861 
here. To no mere quarrels of kings or poli- 
ticians do civilized nations respond with such 
vigor and determination as was witnessed 
there and here. 

NAPOLEON'S FIRST BLTTNDEES. 

In this initial development of the war — the 
uprising of the two nations — the greatest 
blunder of the French Emperor was exposed. 
His own nation was at his back ; his hopes 
were realized there, for only a few voices 
like those of Favre and Thiers had been 
heard in weak remonstrance against the inex- 
pediency of the crime. But Germany, too, 
was united in support of the Prussian King. 
Napoleon had believed that to threaten Ger- 
many with invasion was to divide the Con- 
federation and detach the Southern allies 
from its support. The war had not been de- 
clared a week before he recognized that in 
insulting and arousing the national spirit, 
not the mere national pride, of Germany, he 
had united her. The disaffection of Hanover, 
troublesome always during time of peaoe, 
disappeared the instant war was begun. 
Frankfort bankers and citizens, bitter ene- 
mies of Prussia while peace lasted, became 
loyal, liberal, enthusiastic citizens of the 
Confederation when threatened with inva- 
sion. Bavaria, Baden, Wurtemberg, Saxony 
— forgetting how, no longer than four years 
before, the Prussian army had desolated 
some of them in its triumphant march upon 
Austria — responded with alacrity to the Ger- 
man call. Napoleon entirely miscalculated 
the strength of the German feeling of nation- 
ality. He forgot that in the face of great 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



109 



dangers minor dissensions disappear; and 
that to thus demonstrate the value of unity 
■was to confound all arguments for dis- 
imion. 

Errors as preat as this lost Napoleon also 
the sympathy of neutral nations, and left 
him without moral support in all Europe. 
The shallowness of the pretext for war was 
recognised by all. In Italy it was so strongly 
condemned by public sentiment that Victor 
Emanuel, in replying to Napoleon's demand 
for aid, declared that to send him an Italian 
army was to destroy the monarchj\ In 
Austria the indignation of the people at the 
French insult to the Teutonic race was so 
strong that the Saxon Von Beust and the 
Hapsburg Emperor durst not afford Napo- 
leon even moral support. Russia was 
already leagued with Prussia. England, 
Spain, and the rest of the minor States, were 
powerless to interpose. France thus found 
herself doomed to cope singly and alone with 
United Germany. And, as if further lo appal 
Napoleon, it was at this time that the great 
military inferiority of France to Germany 
was displayed. To his call responded a great 
standing army, imposing in its display of 
numbers, and supported, as we have seen, 
by an almost united public sentiment. But 
to the call of the Prussian King an armed 
nation replied. The French people, forbid- 
den to carry arms for twenty years or more, 
merely urged the standing army to its work. 
The German people, trained to arms under 
tlie peculiar system in vogue with the Teu- 
tons since the days when they fought the 
Roman Empire, joined the Prussian army 
and marched with it. The one nation was 
a warlike people prohibited from bearing 
arras that a despised government might be 
safe from civil contentions. The other was 
a people of peaceful disposition and pursuits, 
forced for greater security from powerful and 
belligerent neighbors to bear arms and main- 
tain an army in which all citizens owed ser- 
vice by law. The regular French army was 
large, but practically it had no reserves, for 
the Gardes Mobiles were untrained to the 
use of arms. The standing armies of Ger- 
many were comparatively small, mere skele- 
ton organizations ; but their reserves of the 
Landwehr 'were ample, and trained to the 
use of the best weapons of war. Hence to 
the Rhine only a great French army moved, 
but from Germany and its allied States 
marched a whole nation. 

MILITARY BLUNDERS. 

These were initial errors which materially 
aflTected the whole campaign, for they begot 
others. Among the gravest was a halt in 
the advance, and a false disposition of the 
French corps. 

Napoleon's campaign was based, as he him- 
self tells us, on the supposition that Southern 
Germany could be detached, in fact as well 
as sentiment, from the Northern Confedera- 
tion. His plan was " to mass L^COOO men at 
Metz, 100,000 at Strasbourg, and 50,000 at 



ChUlons. and to cross tlie Rhino near Hague- 
nau." Had this campaign been carried out 
with vigor by July 20th, as it might have 
been, it would have proved comparatively 
successful. The German armies would have 
been caught in the act of mustering; the 
Rhine fortresses would have been found 
poorly prepared for defence ; only the Ba- 
deners were then on the upper and OTxly Von 
Steinmetz on the lower Rhine. The disaffec- 
tion of the South Germans, if any existed 
among, them, would have been encouraged 
by the temporary success of the invaders. 
The passage of the Rhine would have given 
an excuse to Austria and Italy to impose 
neutrality on South Germany, as Napoleon 
says he lioped they would, but we now know 
that they would not have ventured to act at 
all. His success would have been, therefore, 
only temporary, but the campaign across 
the Rhine could, nevertheless, have been 
made before the end of July, had not Napo- 
leon halted irresolute on the discovery of his 
initial diplomatic blunders. By the end of 
the third week in July, the corps of the 
French army were in position to make the 
contemplated advance. The First Corps, un- 
der Marshal MacMahon, was concentrated at 
Strasbourg, with its supports at Bitche. Bel- 
fort and Besancon, forming the right column. 
The Third Corps, under Marshal Bazaine, 
and two others, was at Metz; with Frossard 
thrown forward to St. Avald and Ladrair- 
vault to Thionville, forming the left wing. 
The centre was at Chalons and Nancy, 
under Marshal Canrobert. I'he advance 
corps, thus spread out like a great fan, ex- 
tended along a point from Thionville to Bel- 
fort, a distance of more than 1,50 iTiiles. Be- 
tween the right at Strasbourg and the left at 
Metz, connected only by the two advanced 
corps of De Failly and Frossard, fifty miles 
of the most difficult coimtry of France inter- 
vened. This false disposition of the French 
army, insignificant if the intention to advance 
had been persisted in after the first disap-- 
pointments, became a glaring military blun- 
der when delay had given the German array 
time to organize and occupy Baden and 
Rhenish Bavaria. It was the manifest duty 
of the French commander to move with his 
large standing army before the German 
citizen-soldiers could be assembled, armed, 
and organized. Having no volunteers to re- 
cruit from, no trained reserves to call upon, 
the French had everything to lose and no- 
thing to gain by delay. Delay was all the 
Germans asked. " If Napoleon will give us 
until July 23," said Von Moltke, on July 16, 
" he will never pass the Rhine." If Von 
Moltke — who had more confidence in the 
military system which he had elaborated, and 
a more just appreciation of German public 
sentiment, than any of his associates, except- 
ing, perhaps. Count Bismarck — was too san- 
guine regarding German energy, he was also 
too apprehensive of French daring. Napo- 
leon, grown cautious and, as now appears, 
full of misgivings of his "own strength, gave 



110 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



the Germans still longer time. It was not 
until Avigust 2d, that he made hia first de- 
monstration at Saarbruck. If this ridiciilous 
affair had any higher purpose than to amuse 
the troops and the Prince Imperial, it was to 
deceive the Germans into the belief that the 
Palatinate, and not Baden, was to be first in- 
vaded. But it cannot be considered as hav- 
ing this importance ; for it was followed by 
no movement whatever, and the French 
never again really assumed the offensive. 

THE BAfTLES IN THE VOSG^. 

On August 3d, the whole of the German 
armies were in position near the French 
frontier from Treves to the Rhine, and along 
the upper Rhine. On the next day the left 
wing, under the Crown Prince of Prussia, 
threw itself in overwhelming force, and by 
surprise, upon the single division of General 
Douay holding an advanced position at Weis- 
senburg on the Lauter, near its junction with 
the Rhine. The attacking force numbered 
40,000 men. The French had not half that 
number, and they were surprised at their 
morning meal. The principal defence of the 
town was stormed, and the French fled in 
confusion to a moun-tain pass of the Vosges 
near Woerth. During the night of August 
4th and the succeeding day the Crown 
Prince crossed the Lauter and the Rhine 
with not less than 120,000 men, and prepared 
to advance on August 6th, by the valley 
routes, to Strasbourg, where MacMahon was 
thought to be. But the French Marshal, 
instead of withdrawing his advanced di- 
visions to Strasbourg, concentrated them 
in their new position at Woerth, and estab- 
lished aline from Hagrienau to Woerth, hold- 
ing the passes of the Yosges and threaten- 
ing the right flank of the Germans if they 
attempted to march on Strasbourg. He 
succeeded in concentrating about 50,000 
men at these points. De Failly, at Bitche, 
failed to come up in time, else MacMahon 
would have confronted the Crown Prince in 
a naturally strong position with fully 70,000 
men. The change of front necessitated by 
the position assumed by MacMahon, caused 
considerable delay in the Crown Prince's 
attack, and though the battle began at 8 
o'clock it di'd not become general until after 
noon. In one or two minor affairs of the 
morning the French were successful ; but in 
a desperate attack upon the Fifth Prussian 
Corps they were driven back with great 
slaughter. In the afternoon the Crown 
P-rince, weakening his centre, although the 
French persisted in attacking there, extended 
his right and left in heavy flank attacks on 
both wings of MacMahon's army. Its right 
was first overlapped and driven in on the 
centre, and eventually broken. Almost im- 
mediately afterward the French left was 
flanked, and a panic seizing the whole army 
It turned and fled in great confusion to the 
mountains. Just at the close of the engage- 
ment one division of De Failly's corps reached 
the field and covered the retreat. In this 



battle the French lost 20,000 men in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners, and thirty cannon, 
including six mitrailleuses. Pursuit was 
made next day. Abandoning the march to. 
ward Strasbourg, the Crown Prince pushed 
forward toward Nancy, with directions from 
Von Moltke to thrust himself between Mac- 
Mahon and Bazaine, and prevent their junc- 
tion at Metz. Forces were detached to mask 
Bitche and Pfalsburg, and an army of Bava- 
rians was advanced to besiege Strasbourg, 
which was now held only by the regular 
French garrison under General Uhlrich. 

On the same day that the Crown Prince 
routed MacMahon at Woerth, the armies of 
Von Steinmetz and Frederick Charles made 
the passage of the Saar at Saarbruck, and 
surprised and defeated the French at For- 
bach. The attack seems to have been pre- 
maturely made, and was permitted by Gen- 
eral Von Steinmetz to develop into a general 
engagement, against positive orders. It has 
been asserted that it was the design of Von 
Moltke to thrust Prince Frederick Charles 
between that part of the French left which 
had been advanced to the Vosges and the 
main body at Metz, and capture it ; but there 
is nothing in proof of the existence of this 
daring design. It does not seem to have 
been feasible, for at the time only one of 
Prince Frederick Charles's divisions had 
passed the Saar. After its defeat at For- 
bach, the left column of the French array 
concentrated toward Metz. In the mean 
time the centre, under Canrobert; had ad- 
vanced to Nancy and Metz, and hopes were 
entertained that the army could be again 
united on the Moselle. But the Prussian 
Crown Prince, with wonderful vigor, thrust 
his columns forward between the two French 
wings. At the same time the army of Prince 
Frederick Charles was moved upon the right 
flank of Bazaine's columns, and thus becom- 
ing for the time the centre of the German 
army, at once established communication 
with the left, and increased the force which 
continually separated the two wings of Na- 
poleon's shattered army. 

Thus was accomplished the difiScult work 
of driving the French from their strong posi- 
tions in the Vosges Mountains. It was ac- 
complished with less loss to the assailants 
than was sustained by the defenders. In 
doing it the French Army, doubtless by de- 
sign on the part of the German commander, 
but partly by fortuitous circumstances, was 
broken in two. It now became the chief 
purpose of the German leader to prevent its 
concentration. The natural lines of retreat 
from Metz * and Nancy converged at Cha-* 
Ions ; it was necessary, therefore, to get upon 
these lines and cut one of the armies oQ" from 
retreat. Von Moltke decided to make the 
effort against that of Marshal Bazaine. 

On surrendering at Sedan, Napoleon III. 
endeavored to open negotiations for peace, 

* [NftTE. — As Metz hag been well dwelt upon, we shall 
omit a retrospection of tlie siege of that town.T-iilUlOR.] 




GREAT SURPRISE OF GERMAN LADIES ON BEIIOLDT?;rG FOR THE FIRST 
TIME A " TURCO" IN THE HOSPITAL AT BERLIN. 

<S)ropc 35ertt>uni5erung bcutfc^er 5Dameit Beim er[ieit UnhM dmi „Znvco" im-. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



113 



bat the Prnssian Premier soon discovered 
that neither he nor the Regencv. to which 
the Emperor had delepated authority, had 
power to enforce on France the conditions 
precedent to peace which were demanded ; 
for the Republic had been proclaimed, and 
the Krapire repudiated. Well would it have 
been for France if the crime of the Empire 
in declarini? and making war had also been 
disavowed ; but the responsibility for its con- 
tinna'nce was unhesitatingly assumed by a 
Committee of National Defence, which, by 
this first act, indicated imbecility stnce fully 
established. Von Moltke was not the man, 
nor was the Prussian Premier in the humor 
to delay long in negotiations with a fallen 
monarch or a defiant ministry, and the 
same day that saw the capitulation of Sedan 
also beheld the columns of the Crown 
Princes in motion toward Paris. 

The Saxon, by the Aisne and Oise, the Prus- 
sian by the Marne and Aube, swept forward 
with resistless numbers, marking Ldon, Sois- 
Bons, and other fortified towns in their path- 
way with forces adequate to their reduction ; 
and in two weeks, on the 15th of tseptember, 
just two months after the French declaration 
of war, the German armies deployed before 
tlie north-eastern defences bf Paris. This 
part of the line of investment was established 
•without serious opposition, greatly to the 
surprise of the Germans, who anticipated 
resistance at the passage of the Seine. 
Trochu's troops were certainly unfit at this 
time to be trusted in battle, and could not 
have prevented the investment though they 
might have retarded it under a skillful 
general, without jeopary to themselves. If 
it was wise, however, not to oppose the 
passage of the Seine with such troops, it 
was madness to attempt, as Trochu did four 
days later, the re-occupation of the elevated 
country south of Paris. The extension of 
the (German line from the Seine to Versailles 
i front of the southern line forts, brought 
on an engagement (Sept. 19) known to the 
French as the Battle of Chatillon, and to 
the Germans as that of Sceaux. Lying 
between the two towns thus named and 
commanding the country round and the 
French forts in its front, is a range of hills 
known as the Heights of Sceaux; and it was 
for the possession of this position that the 
battle was fought. Gen. Trochu, with 
apparently culpable negligence, had failed to 
seize and fortify this important position. 
He had declared his intention to remain 
strictly on the defensive until he could arm, 
organize, ai\d discipline the immense mass 
«f Gardes Mobiles, marines, and volunteers 
who had crowded into Paris for defence. He 
doubtless had also some indefinite hope of 
aid coming from the army which had already 
begun to form on the Loire at Orleans; but 
dependence on this force or on his own 
unskilled soldiery was, as events proved, 
mistaken confidence, and won for Trochu 
the satirical title of the "Military Micajvber." 
But after resolving that notliing remained 
8 



but to hold the defensive, Trochu was weak 
enough to be overruled by the advice of 
subordinates and the wishes of his associates 
in the Government, and consented to make 
an effort to retake the heights which he had 
permitted the Germans to seize without 
opposition. If it was folly not to have 
secured them before the approach of the 
Germans, it was insanity to attempt to 
recapture them with a single corps of half 
drilled, untried troops. 'I'he unwisely or- 
dered attack was badly directed and tardily 
conducted; the troops displayed great gal- 
lantry, but they also displayed their undis- 
cipline, and their f fiforts naturally resulted in 
positive repulse. 

The ilfovements of the Germans in 
strengthening their lines south and west of 
the city more than once induced Troclui to 
make reconnoissances, which in one or two 
instances resulted in brief yet serious engage- 
ments. On Sept. 30, two columns, operating 
from Chatillon and St. Cloud, advanced to 
develop changes which had been made in the 
investing line in front of these positions, but 
they had hardly deployed before overwhelm- 
ing numbers of Germans were advancing 
from their bivouacs to meet them. The 
French were driven back at both points, and 
being flanked on their right by the. over- 
lapping lines of the Germans, 8uff"ered severe 
losses. The only result of the affair was to 
reveal precisely what the French did not 
wish assured them, that the Germans were 
daily transferring forces from the east to the 
west side of Paris, and preparjng to bombard 
the city on its weakest front. By these 
movements, masked by the Heights of Sceaux 
and their own strongly maintained lines, the 
Germans finally disposed their great forces 
around the city. The investing line estab- 
lished by the Germans was about five miles 
in depth, the reserves being not more than 
that distance from the advanced posts. The 
system on which the Germans conducted the 
siege was different in many respects from 
that in vogue during our own war. The ad- 
vanced posts, where small bodies of men kept 
vigilant lookout on the proceedings of the 
French in the city and forts, were strongly 
intrenched with the design of being held 
until supports could come up. In their im- 
mediate rear, larger forces were posted in 
camps or stationed in convenient farm- 
houses, villas, and chateaus ; while divisions 
and corps, still further to the rear, were can- 
toned in the numerous villages and towns 
which form suburban Paris. With houses 
to hve in, warm beds and rich linen to rest 
upon, wine in the cellars, fruit on the trees, 
and vegetables from near and distant gardens 
of the occupied departments, the besiegers 
had little to dread from delay, and could 
afford to wait until famine forced capitula- 
tion. Strong as this line was known to be, 
the French did not despair of breaking 
through it, and while the Germans prepared 
for the bombardment their (Miemy made two 
or three fruitless efforts to raise the sieg-j 



114 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 



and escape. The most of these were made 
against Trochu's judgment, and, badly sup- 
ported and worse directed, failed ignomini- 
ously. The first of any note made on Oct. 
28th, against Le Bourget on the north of 
Paris, appears to have been permitted as a 
sort of concession to a corps of Paris volun- 
teers, led by noted Communists, It is signi- 
ficant of the condition of Paris at this time 
that on its failure and the repulfe of their 
corps with heavy loss. Communes of Paris 
invaded the Hotel de Ville, captured Troehu 
and the members of the Government, pro- 
claimed a new republic, and for several hours 
were in possession of the. Government. A 
corps of Mobiles happily arriving thrust the 
new leaders out, and restored the Committee 
of National Defence, else France would have 
been again revolutionized by a Paris mob. 

The most formidable of these sorties was 
undertaken on November 30th, by Gen. Du- 
crot, with 100,000 men, against the positions 
at Brie, Champigny, and Avron, lield by the 
Saxons and W"urtembergers,and commanding 
the German line of communications. The 
French were certainly sagacious in detecting 
liere the weakest points in the German line, 
but they under-estimated the facilities for 
concentration, which their positions gave the 
enemy. Gen. Ducrot passed the Marne and 
penetrated the German lines, capturing two 
<or three important positions, and e&tablishing 
himself at Brie and Champigny. But here, 
:strangely enough, he resumed the defensive, 
as if satisfied with what he had gained, when 
clearly his tactics were to mass all the troops 
■possible in that part of the line, and continue 
the attack. He waited, however, for two 
days, when the Germans, reenforcing their 
allies, attacked and carried Champigny and 
Brie (December 2d), and forced Ducrot back 
into the small peninsula formed by a bend in 
the Marne. This, on the following day, he 
"was compelled to abandon. Two important 
positions gained during this attack were re- 
tained by the French, and from these they 
were driven only after the preparations for 
bombardment had been completed by the 
<jrermans. One of these was a hillock east 
-of Paris called Mount Avron, overlooking 
and commanding Forts Rosny, Nogent. and 
Noisy; the other was the town of Villejuif, 
-south of the city. Both were at once fortified 
by the French with the heaviest guns in 
Paris, and continued to be held until the 
Germans, having resolved on bombardment, 
partly as a concession to public opinion at 
home, and partly to strengthen their lines 
hy concentration, knocked the works at 
Mount Avron to pieces and advanced their 
own batteries to "that point. Against Ville- 
juif no direct effort was made. 

THE EFFOSTS OF THE PROVINCES. 

From thebeffinning of the siege of Paris, 
the " Military Micawber " who waited there 
for something to turn up, depended less on 
;liis own undisciplined masses tlian on the 
i^armies which it was known were forming in 



I the Provinces. The hope which inspired 
their resolution was a vain one; nevertheless, 
the grand and heroic efi'orts of the Provinces 
almost warranted the confidence reposed in 
them. The Republic, which had come into 
power on September 4, had not an army to 
contend against the victorious half million 
of Germans on French soil. Only an unor- 
ganized mass of enthusiastic volunteers 
rushed to the rescue. These had to b^. dis- 
ciplined, uniformed, armed, and, most diffi- 
cult task of all, taught the use of weapons, 
which for twenty years had been forbidden 
them. The Minister of War, Garabetta. es- 
caping from the besieged capital in a balloon, 
undertook the organization of the Provincial 
armies, and, by sheer force of personal char- 
acter, inspired the Provinces to heroic 
efforts. He not only gave them renewed 
energy, but direction, and out of chaos 
brought three great armies. Camps were 
established at Lille and Rouen in the north, 
at Conlie in the west, and at Orleans, Bor- 
,deaux, and Lyons in the south ; and to these 
flocked the recruits who had not, undirected 
and unwisely, huddled into Paris. The for- 
mation of the most distant of these camps 
was not interrupted by the Germans, whose 
main forces were still engaged before Metz 
and Paris; but General Von Moltke seems 
early to have contemplated a dispersal of the 
forces which were concentrating, with more 
daring than discretion, at Orleans, only forty 
miles in the rear of his position south of 
Paris. A snaall army, detached from the in- 
vesting force at Versailles, .under General 
Von der Tann, advanced upon Orleans on 
October 10, surprising the French advance 
at Art6nay on that day, and driving the main 
body of the Array of the Loire out of Orleans 
on the following day. Beyond Orleans Von 
der Taim durst not venture, and the result 
of the expedition was simply to push the re- 
cruiting French a little further south. At 
the same time. Von der Tann's right became 
exposed to attack from the troops formmg at 
Conlie, behind Le Mans, and thus he was 
placed on the defensive in a position which 
demanded his utmost vigilance. He was 
glad to remain quiet until a month later, 
when the surrender of Metz gave him prom- 
ise of large reinforcements from the disen- 
gaged army of Prince Frederick Charles. 
No sooner had this event occurred (October 
26) than Von Moltke resolved on the dis- 
persal of the French armies in the provinces. 
Von Steinmetz's old army, recruited to 
75.000or 80,000 men, was given to General 
Manteugfel, and directed against the camps 
about Lille and Rouen, and the fortified posi- 
tions in the North. Prince Frederick Charles, 
with the old Second Army, was pushed 
westward with orders to disperse D'Aurelles, 
below Orleans, and Chanzy, at Conlie or Le 
Mans. Von Werder was already forcing the 
advance guard of the Lyons army further 
southward, and debouching from the Vosges 
into the Saone valley. 

The French Minister of War at Tours no 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



115 



sooner heard of the surrender of Metz than 
he resolved (after absurdly stopping in his 
ras:e to outlaw Uazaine and seta price on his 
head) to throw ih<3 Army of the Loire in 
overwhelm in IT force on Von der 'i'ann before 
Prince Frederick ('liarles could come up, 
hoping to crusli him and perhaps reach tlie 
rear of the investing line about raris. Some 
sort of unity of aetion appears to have been 
secured by communication with Trochu by 
carrier pigeons, but all plans failed. Chanzy 
and D'Aurelles were hastily concentrated 
for the attack, the former making also a flank 
movement from Le Mans to the rear of Von 
der Tann's position at Art6nay. But the 
German was too well aware of the danger 
menacing him to relax in vigilance. Con- 
stant reconnoissances of his cavalry warned 
him of the French movement, and though 
forced to abandon OrJeans on November 9- 
10. he did not yield without a struggle, 
which delayed the French advance and has- 
tened tlie approach of Prince Frederick 
Charles from Metz. When again D'Aurelles 
was prepared for advance, he encofintered 
in the initial movement of his left wing at 
Beaune Le Rotron (November 28) the best 
troops of the German prince, and was at 
once brousrht to a halt. The sortie of Ducrot 
at Paris (November 30), made with the un- 
derstanding that D'Aurelles would by that 
time have forced his way to a junction near 
the city, would have been thus rendered 
vain if other circumstances had not already 
prevented its success. Three days after his 
repulse at Beaune Le Lotron, D'Aurelles 
was attacted by Prince Frederic Charles 
^December 3), and Orleans again occupied 
(December 5), with heavy loss to the French 
of 10.000 men, seventy-seven guns, and four 
gunboats. The army of the Loire was thus 
cut in two, one half being forced south 
toward Bourges, and tVie other, fighting 
desperately, toward Le Mans. The French 
Minister of War endeavored to conceal this 
violent disruption of his best army by 
promptly issuing an order creating two 
armies of it. one under Bourbaki, former 
commander of the Imperial Guard, and the 
other under General Chanzy. This defeat 
was commented upon as " a blessing in dis- 
guise " by Paris papers, one of which, de- 
termined to see only the bright side of 
things, exultingly declared, " We have now 
two great armies where was only one before." 
Gambetta made the further great mistake of 
sending the escaped forces under Bourbaki 
on an ill-considered expedition against V»n 
Werder in the Voges, instead of concen- 
trating it upon Chanzy in the west. This 
expedition was a complete — almost absurd — 
failure, and after a few minor successes Bour- 
baki was beaten (January 11) before Belfort, 
the siege of which he had sought to raise, 
and fled toward Lyons to escape capture by 
a force moving from Troyes. This army 
reached and attacked Dijon on January 22, 
but .subsequently moved southward and es- 
tablished itself upon Bourbaki's line of 



retreat. The French, thus caught between 
the two armies of Von Werder and Man- 
teuflel (transferred to the command of the 
force from Troyes), was, at latest dates, ex- 
pected by the Germans to surrender. Chanzy 
managed to concentrate his half of the Army 
of the Loire at Le Mans, but only in time to 
have it driven with severe losses still further 
from the capital which it had been organ- 
ized to relieve. Prince Frederick Charles 
attacked Chanzy here in large force on Jan- 
uary 11, and by concentration late in the 
afternoon of the 12th forced his left from its 
position and carried the town. Chanzy fled 
westward, liursued closely by the Prim;e, 
and escaped only by the sacrifice of 25.000 
or 30,000 men in prisoners alone. The battle 
was decisive of the struggles in the Pro- 
vinces, and forever broke the forlorn hope on 
which Paris depended. 

Meantime, Manteufifel in the north had 
attacked the French under General Faid- 
herbe, and had broken up his camps and 
almost dispersed his army. On November 
27 he defeated him near Amiens, and the 
next day occupied that city, and on Decem- 
ber 5 that of Rouen. Faidherbe rallied, and 
again attempted to advance toward Paris, 
but was beaten again (December 22-23) at 
Pont de Noyelle. He retired toward Lille, 
his base of supplies, and reunited his forces 
suflSciently to enable hira to again advance a 
month later. But on January 19 he encoun- 
tered General Von Goeben, who had suc- 
ceeded to Manteufi"ers place, at St. Quentin, 
and was beaten in a battle not less disastrous 
than that which had broken Chanzy's army 
at Le Mans. His line was cut in two. ani 
his array, after losing l.o.OOO men, fled in a 
demoralized condition to Lille. 

Thus ended in complete discomfiture the 
great efforts of the Provinces. Sublime in 
their enthusiasm and faith, these raw recruits 
deserved wiser direction and a better fate; 
but what other than defeat was to be ex- 
pected under the circumstances ? 'i'here 
was no time, after Prince Frederick Charles's 
army was relieved from the siege of Metz, 
that the Provinces were competent to force 
their bloody way to Paris. 

THE BOMBARDMENT OF PARIS. 

It was not credited for many weeks after 
the investment of Paris had been completed 
that the Germans seriously contemplated the 
bombardment of the city, but trusted for its 
reduction to that grim ally, famine. Few 
suspected that the resources of Paris could 
sustain its immense population more than a 
month or two. Indeed, General Trochu 
never claimed that the city was provisioned 
for more than two months, and he seems 
not to have suspected its real strength in 
this regard. The administration of Paris in 
this respect has certainly been most admira- 
ble, and those' who organized the system of 
food distribution deserve infinite credit. But 
it is now known that, spite of this economi- 
cal distribution of the public supplies, Pari? 



116 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



early began to suffer from the lack of good 
provisions. Of bread and wine there was 
- enongh and to spare, bnt by the beginning 
of November the beef supplies were gone. 
On the Ifith of the same mouth the supply 
of horseflesh had been reduced, by the con- 
sumption of the animal3 of the great Com- 
pany of Undertakers which buried Paris in 
its days of peace and pomp, by Government 
contract, to above 40,000 horses, and before 
Christmas week had set in these had been 
consumed. Mule meat was the next i-esort, 
and supplies of this sold, before the holidays 
were over, at $2.00 per pouncL Domestic 
animals were devoured as early as December 
1, but not in large numbers ; and it was not 
until the supply of mule meat ran low that 
cats and dogs commanded extravagant prices 
($1..50 per pound), or were generally con- 
sumed. Rats and mice were never re- 
sorted to by the public geiierally, though 
there were well-authenticated instances of 
their appearance on the stalls of the Paris 
butchers. Every indication pointed to the 
early submission of the city from this cause 
alone, when the Germans having completed 
their preparations, opened the bombardment. 
Their preparations had been begun at an 
early stage of the siege. The batteries 
planted " south and west of Paris," wrote 
General W. B. Plazen from Versailles, " were 
near enough to bombard any part of the 
city." During the last week of October " a 
park of heavy guns, such as all other siege 
parks ever known bear no comparison with," 
reached Versailles, and was planted to bear 
upon the southern line of forts. The siege 
guns on other parts of the line were not, 
however, in position to '>egin the bombard- 
ment until the middle of December, and it- 
was not until the day after Christmas that 
the first fire was opened. The French fort 
on Mont Avron, seized and fortified during 
Ducrot's sortie of November 30, was the 
first position attacked. The fire of four bat- 
teries of Krupp's cannon reduced it after two 
days' bombardment, and it was occupied on 
December 29, and a battery commanding the 
forts on the east of Paris, and capable of 
throwing projectiles beyond the walls of the 
city, was at once erected upon it. Forts 
Rosny, Noisy and Romainville were soon 
after silenced from this work, but were not 
seized by the Germans, nor, indeed, aban- 
dimed by their garrisons. On January 
5, the batteries south of the city were 
opened on Forts Issy, Vanves and Mont- 
rouge, and the first two were silenced 
after a brief bombardment, and the third 
ceased to reply on the 11th. What purpose 
inspired tha Germans to this bombardment 
we are yet to learn. That it was futile as 
against Paris is apparent ; indeed, it cannot 
be said that the city was really subjected to 
determined shelling. As against 'the forts 
the fire was efi'ective, and established the 
superiority of Krupp's cannon; but no effort 
was made to take possession of any of the 
regular forts whose fire had been silenced. 



Indeed, it seems more than likely that the 
whole purpose of the bombardment was to 
satisfy German public opinion, which had 
clamored for action, and to convince the 
Parisians that the threats of bombard- 
ment had not been made without the 
power to carry them out. The Germans 
contented themselves with closely guarding 
every avenue of escape, repulsing every sor- 
tie made by the French. The last of these, 
attempted on January 19th. was a signal 
failure, resulting in the loss of 6,000 French- 
men, and inflicting a loss on the Germans 
of onlj' as many hundreds. The Govern- 
ment of Paris was demoralized by this fail- 
ure, Trochu was dismissed from command, 
and M. Jules Favre, despairing of further 
resistance, repaired to Versailles to negotiate 
the surrender which had evidently been re- 
solved upon as unavoidable. 

THE RESULT TO EUROPE. 

The fall of Paris is virtually the end of the 
war. There may be weak resistance at one 
or two points ; the scattered armies of the 
provinces may maintain their organization 
and a defensive attitude for a brief time ; but 
the spirit of resistance, the principle of co- 
hesion is gone. Paris has ever been France 
in time of revolution; and with the citadel 
gone, how shall the fortress hold out ? The 
war is practically ended, and its evils and its 
blessings may be summed up. 

The first we have recorded from day to day 
with faithful and impartial pen. The bles- 
sings are of the future. And the reduction 
of France to a second-rate power will not be 
without great blessings to civilization. How- 
ever remarkable and terrible in its every 
military aspect, the campaign of 1870 has 
been chiefly momentous and beneficial in 
the political changes it has wrought. In 
France it has broken forever the power of 
one of the least progressive, and the most 
mischievous and belligerent people of Europe, 
and the one which has most disturbed the 
general peace for ages. In Germany it has 
suddenly elevated to the position of Arbiter 
of P]urope, the most peaceful and domestic of 
races. It has reduced from the first position 
that one of the Great Powers most positively 
committed to the false policy that its national 
prosperity depended on the misfortunes of 
its neighbors, and that to embarrass other 
Powers and to contract other influences was 
the surest way of extending its own impor- 
tance. It has elevated to the first rank that 
Nation which of all others in Europe believes 
that individual and national greatness de- 
pends on the general prosperity. It has 
destroyed an Empire whose policy was War, 
while its cry was Peace, but it has at the 
same time created a greater and a better 
one, whose undoubted policy must be Peace 
In France it has pricked and instantly ex- 
ploded a- despotism which might have con- 
tinued for a generation of peace to enervate 
the people it tyrannized over. In Germany 
it' has not less suddenly aroused a spirit o*^ 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



117 



nntioniUity, whicli reiulers at once possible 
tluit long-coveted unity of the German race 
which an age of peace might not have con- 
Bolidated. While the French Empire existed 
there could be no real peace in Europe. 
While the German Empire remains there 
can be no war without its consent; and the 
past policy, the fixed principles, the natural 
sympathies of lier people, not the mere writ- 
ten records of her government, violable at 
the will of one man. are pledges of her peace- 
ful purposes. Let us sympathize with the 
race which lias been so painfully humiliated; 
but let US also rejoice with that larger civili- 
zation of all Europe which gains by what the 
French have lost. The war is yet to find its 
most important result, its chief apology, and 
its greatest blessing, in the increased impulse 
it will give to a higher and better civilization 
in Europe. It is in their enlarged liberty 
that the French are yet to see themselves 
blessed by their own overthrow. France has 
not merely been relieved of the cancer of the 
Empire that ate its heart out, but her people 
have been liberated from false and enervat- 
ing direction, and are free to enter upon a 
sounder and truer education than that which 
has heretofore made them a race of polished 
but frivolous people — smooth and elegant of 
exterior, but too deficient in the great im- 
pulses which belong to more earnest and 
jjrogressive races. We shall not be many 
years — the French will not be a generation 
— in recognizing that the war has been one 
of the mysterious agencies of civilization, 
spreading knowledge, which is the only true 
source of power ; the unsuspected means of 
developing industry, which creates wealth. 
By the war France is relieved of a rulex, an 
army, a system of government which ab- 
sorbed and wasted her prosperity, and not 
only she and Germany, but all Europe, will 
be saved henceforth much of that cost in 
wealth and loss in national spirit which fol- 
lows the maintenance of large standing 
armies. Relieved of these dread incubuses, 
France may become the rival of England 
and Germany in manufactures ; and once 
educated beyond the belief that the glory of 
a nation is found in its prowess in war, not 
its peaceful prosperity, she may become, as 
a manutacturing state, more prosperous and 
truly influential than at any period of her 
former existence. 

THE WAR ENDED. 

THE TREATY OP PEACE SIGNED AT VERSAILLES. 

The treaty of peace was signed at Ver- 
sailles, on February 26, 1871, by M. Thiers, 
and Count Von Bismarck. The text of the 
preliminary articles of peace, were signed by 
Thiers and Favre on the part of France, and 
Bismarck, Bray, Wachter and Jolly, on the 
part of Germany. 

They provide as follows : The line of de- 
raarkation between France and Germany as 
at first proposed is retained with one excep- 
tion. It commences in the northwestern 



frontiers at the canton of Cattenom, in the 
Department of the Moselle; runs thence to 
Thionville, Briey, and Garze ; skirts the 
southwestern and southern boundaries of 
the arroiidissement of Metz ; thence proceeds 
in a direct line to the Chateau Solms and 
at Felton Court, in the arrondisseinent of 
Thein, and follows the crest of mountains 
between the valleys of the rivers Seille and 
Regouze, in the Department of Meurthe, to 
the canton of Schwinecke, in the north- 
western corner of the Department of the 
Vosges ; thence it runs to Saales, dividing 
that commune ; and alter that coincides with 
the western frontiers of the Upper and Lower 
Rhine Departments until it reaches the can- 
ton of Belfort ; thence it passes diagonally to 
the canton of Delle, and terminates by reach- 
ing the Swiss frontier. 

The alteration made at the last moment in 
the boundaries gives Belfort to France, and 
cedes additional territory around Metz to the 
Germans. Germany is to possess her acquis!- 
tions from France in perpetuity. 

It is agreed that as soon as the prelimi- 
naries are ratified the Germans shall evac- 
tuate the Departments of Calvados, Oisne, 
Sarthe, Eure-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, and 
Yonne, and all territory on the left bank of 
the Seine. The French troops will retire 
behind the river Loire until peace is finally 
declared, except from Paris and other strong, 
holds. 

The Germans, after the payment of two 
milliards, will occupy only the Departments 
of the Marne, Ardennes, Haute Marne, 
Meuse, Vosges, Meurthe, and the Fortress 
of Belfort. Germany will be open to a'ccept 
suitable financial payment instead of terri- 
torial guarantees for the payment of the war 
indemnity. 

Article 2. It is agreed in this article that 
France shall pay to Germany five milliards 
of francs as a war indemnity, one milliard, 
at least, in 1871. and the rest in the space of 
three years front the ratification of the treaty 
of peace. 

^Article 3 provides that the evacuation of 
France by the German forces sliall com- 
mence on the ratification of the treaty by 
the National Assembly. The German troops 
will then immediately quit Paris and the 
left bank of the Seine, and also the Depart- 
ments of Cher, Indre-et-Loire and Seine 
Inferieure. The French troops will remain 
behind the Loire till the signature of a 
definite treaty of peace, excepting in Paris, 
where the garrison is not to exceed 40,000 
men. The Germans are to evacuate the 
right bank of the Seine, gradually, after the 
signature of a definitive treaty of peace and 
the payment of half a million of francs. 
After the payment of two milliards the Ger- 
mans are to hold only the Departments of 
Marne, Ardennes, Meuse, Vosges and Meur- 
the, and the fortress of Belfort. After the 
payment of three milliards, the Germans are 
to keep only 50,000 troops in France ; but if 
sufficient money guarantees are given the 



118 



THE FRAKCO-GERMAN WAR 



Germans will evacuate the conntry com- 
pletely at once ; otherwise the three milliards 
will carry interest at the rate of five per 
cent, per annum from the ratification of the 
treaty to final payment. 

Article 4. The German troops are to make 
no further requisitions, Jjut the French Go- 
vernment will find food for the army of 
occupation. In the ceded departments favor- 
able arrangements will be made with the 
inhabitants, and time will be given them to 
move out, if they please. No obstacle will 
be placed in the way of their emigration. 

Article 6. It is provided in this article 
that all prisoners of war shall be liberated 
immediately after the ratification of the 
treaty. The French railways are to lend 
carriages and engines to the Germans at 
the same price as they charge the French 
Government. 

Article 7. Lnmediately on the ratification 
of the treaty it will be definitely signed at 
Brussels. 

Article 8. In this it is agreed that the 
management of all the occupied depart- 
ments shall be handed over to the French 
officials, subject, however, to the German 
commanders in the interests of the Ger- 
man troops. 

Article 9. It is well understood that the 
Germans have no authority over the depart- 
ments now occupied by them. 

Article 10. These presents are to be sub- 
mitted and done by the 26th of February. 

The subsequent convention provides as 
follows : 

Article 1 prolongs the armistice to the 
12th of March. 

Article 2 provides for the occupation of 
Paris by 30,000 Germans, and agrees to 
the separation of the French and German 
troops. 

Article 3 agrees that no more requisitions 
shall be made by the German troops. If 
any are made the mistake will be rectified. 

The treaty winds up with the usual 
words, " Done at Versailles, this 26th day 
of February, 1871." 

PEACE 

The armistice was Peace. All the world 
knew there would be no resumption of hos- 
tilities in France at the conclusion of the 
three weeks' rest from pillage and slaughter. 
The war had exhausted one nation and crip- 
pled the other, and from both combatants and 
from all the rest of Europe looking nervously 
and amazedly on, wondering where the con- 
flagration of war would next extend, there 
went up an earnest prayer for peace. But 
while the negotiations could end in nothing 
else, it was greatly to be feared that the 
positiveness — say the arrogance of Germany, 
if you will — and the pride or blindness of 
France would present insurmountable ob- 
stacles to the happy conclusion of a true, 
honorable peace which Europe might reason- 
ably hope would prove lasting and blessed. 
Thi=i grave danger has been avoided in the 



negotiations which the great statesman of 
Germany has been conducting for days past, 
at Versailles with MM. Thiers and Favre, 
the bravest and strongest of France's pilots 
come to the helm at last. Concessions 
have been wisely and gracefully made by 
Germany, and will be imdoubtedly accepted 
by France, and the negotiations have virtually 
ended in a peace whose conditions Germany 
can concede with safety and France accept 
without further humiliation. There is. hardly 
a doubt that the Assembly, judging from its 
psist actions and its political complexion, 
will confirm the preliminary agreement 
signed at Versailles, and that the formal 
proclamation of Peace will be made by the 
Emperor with praise and thanksgiving for 
the event. 

'I'he cession of Alsace and a part of Lor- 
raine has been insisted upon by the Germans 
as a matter of course. The same political 
and military reasons which suggested this 
demand, immediately after the successes be- 
fore Metz, exist to-day in even stronger force 
than then. The campaign has shown anew, 
and so plainly that iihmilitary minds in Ger- 
many now comprehend, how • absolutely 
essential- the passes of the Vosges which 
the Moselle and its fortresses cover are to 
the. protection of the Palatinate and South 
Germany. Thionville, Metz, Luneville. and 
Bel fort form a line of defence which, though 
weak approached from the Vosges, is for- 
midable to an enemy coming from the cham- 
paign country. These considerations were 
not lost Oft Von Moltke ; Bismarck himself 
has told us how, early and strongly, he was 
impressed with this strategic view which 
silenced all doubts of the propriety and 
policy of making the war in any sense one 
of conquest. Lost long ago to Germany- 
through the treachery of disafi'ected Ger- 
man Princes and the aggressions of France, 
there was the strong argument of precedent 
to silence all scruples in the German mind 
as to reclaiming them after they had been 
conquered. France, in consenting to part 
with them, injures her true interest less than 
she hurts her false pride; for German in 
language and literature, they were German 
by every material and natural bond. Bis- 
marck might have made and enforced other 
more obnoxious conditions than this cession 
of territory, but less than this Germany 
would not let him do ; more of concession 
France could not ask him to grant. If an^r 
are wronged in this forced restitution of 
stolen territory, it is the people who are 
transferred with the property, not France ; 
and it is not yet settled by any fair election 
or free interchange of opinion which side the 
conquered provincials prefer to go with. 

The indemnity claim is moderate, consider- 
ing the great sacrifices which Germany has 
been unnecessarily forced to make. From 
two milliards of thalers it has been reduced 
one-half, and two-thirds of this sum have been 
remitted in consideration of fines and requisi- 
tions and debts. The sum which France wil/' 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



119 



have to pay is still ononnous, and will tax 
her industrioa for soino yoars to pay, hut no 
one will douht that the war expenses of Uer- 
many are far from IxMnfj cancelled by the 
indemnity she has insisted upon. 

Another welcome assurance of peace is 
contained in the order for the liberation of 
all French hostag-es. 'I'liere are nuinhers of 
French citizens, officials, and others of rank 
and wealth, who have bfcn arrested and held 
as hosta<?es for the payment of re(|uisitions 
on various cities, a custom of war'in Europe 
revolting to every sense of right and hu- 
manity. Their release ought to have been 
ordered long since. It is a gratification to 
know that it has been a first result cf peace 
establislied. 

'I'he formal proclamation, the abandon- 
ment of the field by the French, the em- 
barkation or march of the Germans home- 
ward, the triumphal entry of the Emperor 
into Berlin, are comparatively insignificant 
war incidents which are yet to come. But a 
crisis is now upon France hardly less mo- 
mentous than any lately past. The task that 
confronts her in the formation of a new gov- 
ernment, when the cohesion of common dan- 
ger and the influence of the presence of an 
armed enemy is removed from the public 
mind, is one requiring far more varied and 
extensive effort than tlie work of holding to- 
gether the unauthorized administration that 
follovved the fall of Napoleon. That task is 
begun under favorable auspices. There are 
few better men in France or elsewhere than 
those experienced and prudent liberals who 
have come to the front under the pressure of 
danger and necessity. Thus far their efforts 
have been directed to the securing of peace. 
In this they have shown practical wisdom and 
good sense, and a recognition of existing facts 
which does the highest honor' to their judg- 
ment and their patriotism. When the foreign 
armies abandon the soil of France the true 
crisis of her fate will come. It will then be 
seen whether her people have had their folly 
brayed out of them in the mortar of war ; 
whether they have learned to set their coun- 
try above party, arid to acknowledge, as the 
first and best of the fruits of revolution, the 
absolute rule of civil equality and snlmiission 
to the regularly expressed will of the greatest 
number. When the last Prussian has gone 
back to the Rhine, the deadliest enemy of 
France — the spirit of faction — will still re- 
main to be grappled with and subdued. It is 
upon the result of this contest that humanity 
is waiting with mingled hopes and fears. 

NAPOLEON IN BERLIN. 

Now that the conquerors of France have 
magnanimously turned their backs upon 
Paris, it may be well to consider for a mo- 
ment the contrast presented by the conduct 
of the French invader when the campaign of 
Jena had laid Germany at his feet. A half 
century has certainly improved tlie manners 
and morals of princes. 

The events of the present, obscure in our 



eyes all the past. There is something so start- 
ling in the succession of victories that have 
brought the King of Prussia in seven months 
in triumph to the Tuileries, that we call theia 
in our daily speech unexampled, and chal- 
lenge history to afford any parallel for them. 
An argument as to jhe innate inferiority of 
the Latin races is founded upon these occur 
rences, and the South is once more sum 
moned to give up the world peaceably to the 
fair-haired families that are pouring forever 
from the teeming North. But it is always- 
unwise to generalize too hastily from single 
facts, however important. Otherwise, since- 
this century began, the world would have- 
been justified in concluding, not from one 
campaign, but from two, that the German 
race was inferior to the Gaul, and that the 
rod of empire had passed away from the Teu- 
ton to t he Latin. VVhen N apoleon had crushed 
the Austrian power at Austerlitz. it was still 
said*that Austrian frivolity and Russian ig- 
norance was something very different from 
Prussian science and steadfastness. Wait till 
you see this boastful Italian confronted by 
the trained soldiers who have grown up in 
the traditions of the great Frederick, said the- 
Junkers in spectacles on the Spree in 1806,. 
just as they said it in 1860, after Solferino — 
just as the French said of them after Sadotva . 
— ^just as all nations and soldiers speak of 
successful armies who have whipped some- 
body else. But when, after a campaign of a 
fortnight, the Emperor sat down in Berlin to- 
dictate laws to Europe, and oi'ganize a further 
campaign against Russia, it is difficult t» 
see what argument, which now would show 
France utterly lost and ruined, would not 
then have indicated Germany as the vassal 
in perpetuity of her more warlike neighbor. 

Prussia had broken to pieces so completely 
and lamentably at the first blow that there, 
seemed little hfe or vitality left in her organi-- 
zation. The events of one day were all that 
was necessary to destroy her military force 
and her power of resistance. When we con- 
sider the armies employed in that moraentouSr 
campaign — not more than 190,000 on a side — 
it hardly seems like a war in comparison with 
the vast armaments of our day ; but the re- 
sults involved were of the greatest magni- 
tude, and the genius and endurance displayed, 
by the conqueror and his subordinates will 
always make the story of Jena one of the 
most attractive chapters in the history of 
wars to those who unfortunately still believe - 
in the nobility and worth of the science of 
human butchery. 

Reading over again the engrossing story in 
the light of recent events, we are startled at 
every page by the wonderful way in which 
time has brought its revenge to the van- 
quished and its retribution to the victors. 
The terms seem exactly exchanged in almost 
evei-y essential particular. Then it was the 
Prussian King, weak and uxorious, who, in- 
fluenced by a vain Queen and a crowd of am- 
bitious and ignorant nobles, rushed into a. 
hap-hazard war unprepared. It was Prussia. 



120 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



that took so little care of the political and 
diplomatic aspects of the affair that she was 
caught and crushed at last entirely alone. It 
^as Prussia that gloried in the beauty and 
regularity of her field parades ; it was her 
armies that were encumbered by a vast train 
of useless and luxurious rubbish; at their 
head were old and respectable officers owing 
their places to their social rank and the tra- 
ditions of former reigns — the Duke of Bruns- 
wick, Field- Marshal Mollendorf, and the 
Prince of Hohenlohe. They were not satis- 
fied with the nominal command. They had 
the vacillations of age and the conceit of 
youth. They were too old to learn or to 
admit that they had anything to learn in these 
affairs. 

On the other hand was the French army, 
in some respects of discipline and trustworthi- 
ness the counterpart of that now entering 
Paris. Full not only of enthusiasm, bn,t of 
the spirit of obedience as well — ^fiery and sea- 
soned — a living and breathing machine, that 
had its own ideas, and thought and sang and 
prayed, but fought as it was told, without a 
dream of doubt. Its officers — Xej', and Lan- 
oies, and Davoust, and Murat — where will the 
world ever see their like again ? They were 
men created for their time, by the man and 
the age that used them. As we hope such a 
man and such an age are never to come again, 
we can also hope snch perfect soldiers will 
never again appear upon our planet. They 
-were mere soldiers, moulded to the hand of 
Napoleon — as swift and sure to do his bid- 
ding, to do it with every possible manifesta- 
tion of strength and celerity, and instinctive 
knowledge of all things essential, as the 
winged messengers of Omnipotence who peo- 
pled the courts of heaven in the visions of 
Hebrew poets. They were strange instances 
of that arrested development we have some- 
times seen in the true soldier of our own day 
— ^men in grasp and power, and children in 
the love and simplicity of obedience they 
bore to their leader. In this very campaign, 
'"when Murat took Prenzlow, the Emperor 
^inade him and his cavalrymen wild with de- 
light by the clumsy facetiousness'with which 
he wrote, "Since your dragoons can take 
fortifications, I have nothing to do but dis- 
band my foot and melt down my great guns." 
Lannes, who had shared in the capture, and 
was not mentioned in the praise, writes for a 
kind word for his men. "What recompense 
'can they hope for, if not to see their naine 
published by the hundred voices of that re- 
nown which you alone can confer?" The 
Emperor answers, like an indulgent school- 
imaster : " You are babies. I know you did 
finely. Glory enough for all. Your turn 
next time." And the happy Marshal reads 
' these words to his troops, and they cry out 
with effusion, " Vive VEmpereur de V Occi- 
dent I" touching with the sure instinct of 
affection the very heart of Napoleon's most 
secret and cherished ambition. We see all 
that ia evil in hero-worship, but great wars 
ftre impossible without a figure-head. If the 



army has none, it makes one ; which is all 
the difference between what was and is. 

We have no space to describe those two 
marvellous battles that raged simultaneously 
at Jena and Auerstadt. where Napoleon, with. 
Ney and Lannes and Soult. routed that por- 
tion of the Prussian army under Prince 
Hohenlohe, and stout Davoust all alone, with 
his attemiaied corps, met, repulsed, and ut- 
terly defeated the main army, commanded 
by the Duke of Brunswick and the King in 
person. Few more equal fights were ever set 
in action. They were waged on both sides 
with bravery and good conduct; but the 
French superiority in discipline and intelli- 
gence was so enormous that the day closed 
on the rout and rnin of the military power 
of Prussia. The King narrowly missed cap- 
ture. Madame d'Abrantes says her cousin, 
an ardent young oificer, eager for distinction, 
saw him and just missed catching him. the 
King owing fiis escape to his horse. Wheu 
the day was won, Napoleon, who always con- 
centrated every man in his very hands before 
a fight, scattered them like a vast net over 
the country, making many captures among 
the broken, disorganized forces. 

He passed through Weimar, where the wife 
of the Grand Dake,«who had been, after her 
lady-like manner, a violent partisan of the 
war. came to him begging for consid-ration 
to her subjects. Heonly answered. " Madame, 
you know now what war is." He was more 
civil to Goethe; made him talk with him 
while he dined; was greatly pleased with the 
courtly poet, and said, afterward, " He is a 
man, that Mr. Goethe." The remark does not 
shine by originality, but is usually taken in a 
complimentary sense, even by men. On hia 
journey to Berlin he arrived at Potsdam on 
the evening of the 25th of October. He 
rarely exhibited in any merely sentimental 
matter such interest as was awakened in him 
by the souvenirs of Sans Souci. He seemed 
to reach back over the gulf of years a hand 
half of defiance and half fellowship to the 
great philosopher- king who here held his 
court of choice spirits, sacred from the inva- 
sion of statecraft or war. The seclusion of 
a troub^idour king, who knows nothing but 
music, is contemptible. We can easily con- 
ceive what fine Gaulish epithets the great 
Emperor would have applied to his present 
Majesty of Bavaria. But for the dilettantism 
of him who was first in war and first in tlie 
cabinet, he had a genuine and natural admi- 
ration. He showed it by stealing his sword 
and belt and the Cordon of the BJjick Eagle. 
" It will look well in the Invalides," he 
thought, "aud serve as a plaster for Ros- 
bach." 

Davoust went first into Berlin. With his 
soldierly sense of justice in things military, 
Napoleon had so planned the march of the 
army that Davoust should receive the keys 
of the capitol — a noble guerdon, nobly earned 
in the sweat and blood of that strenuous day 
by the bridge at Naumburg. But when the 
grim soldier was offered them by the mimi ' 




M. THIERS, ELECTED PRESIDENT OF FRANCE IN 1871 

3R. X^th tttoa^Utx Jprofibcnt Hon ^ranfrfii^ in 1871. 



THE FRANCO-GEBMAN WAR. 



121 



cipal authorities, he gave them back, saying 
they belonged to a greater than himself — to 
his Emperor. He left a single regiment in 
the city, and passed on to establish himself 
just outside at Friedrichsfeld, his right on 
the Spree and liis left on the forest. Leave 
•was given to the troops to visit the conquered 
capital, a portion at a time. Davoust stipu- 
lated for the strictest observance of disci- 
pline, and promised on his part to respect 
person and property sacredly, on condition 
of good behavior from the citizens and a sup- 
ply of provisions for the limited time the 
troops should remain. 

The soldiers and the people appear to have 
gotten on together well enough. The shops 
were all opened the day after the French en- 
tered ; the tranquil Berliners thronged the 
streets, looked at the swaggering and jabber- 
ing strangers with philosophic and thought- 
ful interest, trying doubtless to deduce, from 
the cut of their surtouts and the curve of 
their moustaches, the logical explanation of 
the events of the Consulate and the Empire. 
Besides, in Berlin then, as in Paris to-day, 
the Government was unpopular for having 
made the war, and it was thus easy to shift 
the onus of personal resentment; like the 
gentleman who was kicked by mistake for 
one Grimsby, and said, " I can't quarrel for 
that — Grimsby can't expect it." 

Napoleon evidently keenly appreciated the 
glory of this short and most marvellous cam- 
paign. When he had taken Vienna he made 
no parade about it — scarcely visited the city. 
He spent the whole period of his stay at the 
lovely palace of Schoenbrunn, where, by the 
way, a Tyrolese jager indulged in the luxury 
of a shot at him, and died for it. But whether 
it was Jena, or the provoking memories of 
Potsdam, or a sudden and acute attack of 
human nature, he resolved upon a somewhat 
public and formal entry into Berlin on the 
28th of October, 1806. 

There would be nothing easier than for 
the people of a conquered town to prevent 
any such shows, or at least to give them a 
ghastly and funereal favor. When Joseph 
Bonaparte entered Madrid as King of Spain, 
the people simply stayed at home and shut 
their doors, and the gloom of the silent 
streets struck to the heart of the carpet-bag 
King. But the Spaniards are an apathetic 
folk, with no thirst for knowledge. You could 
not get a New York crowd to stay at home 
when even Lincoln passed through, and no 
considerations of patriotism would have in- 
duced the geist-reich Berlinese to smoke 
their pipes indoors when there was such an 
opportunity of making psycho-physiological 
observations on a new branch of the human 
race. So the wide streets were crowded with 
them, men and maidens, each in their holi- 
day clothes, to see the conquering Welshers. 
First came the veteran Grenadiers and Chas- 
seurs-k-pied, in their brightest uniform and 
accoutrements ; and so skilful is the French- 
man in caring for his clothes that, at the end 
of a long campaign, ta shall look as if only 



ten minutes from his caserne. In the rear 
came the cavalry and dragoons ; and in the 
center of the cortege, preceded and followed 
by a group of magnificent pfiBijera, in the 
midst of whom the heroic faces pf Berthier, 
of Duroc, and of Davoust were conspicuous, 
on a powerful horse that bore his burden 
with something like conscious dignity and 
decorum, rode the Hero of the Day — the 
best-known figure and face of all that have 
ever confronted the eyes of men. He had 
resisted the temptation of splendid dress, if 
it ever assailed him. He wore the simple 
costume that palace and battle-field knew 
equally well. Through the wide fair street 
of Unter den Linden tUe gorgeous pageant 
passed to the Royal Palace, and there Napo- 
leon alighted, took formal possession of the 
city, and gave audience to all the public au- 
thorities. His language was friendly and 
reassuring in regard to all except the aristo- 
cracy, who, led by that instinct which pro- 
tects the lower orders of created life, had run 
away from town. He was very bitter in refer- 
ence to them, charging upon them the re- 
sponsibility of the war. He did not waete 
much time on ceremony. He made himself 
quite at home in the King's apartments, re- 
ceived the Ambassadors, dismissed them, and 
sent for M. de Talleyrand. M soon as this 
most accomplished amanuensis arrived, the 
Emperor began that astonishing series of 
letters, orders, and decrees, which will make 
his sojourn in Berlin forever memorable in 
history. 

As in all cases where a despot tries to 
wrest from its true wide purpose to his own 
selfish ones the evident tendency of civilizing 
and educating events, this devastating march 
and glorious triumph of Napoleon has in- 
jured only France and benefited only Prussia. 
It sowed in Prussia the seeds of democratic 
thought. It aided to build up in the French 
mind and character that military spirit, that 
disposition to pardon everything which was 
redeemed by a specious and vulgar success, 
which has since so frightfully demoralized 
the nation. Sedan is the complement of 
Jena. The abandonment of Paris reverses 
and cancels the march through Berlin. One 
Emperor by yielding to an impulse of brutal 
triumph stained the glory of victory and 
bred undying resentments. Another by 
listening to wise counsels confirms the moral 
advantage he has gained in battle and marks 
the generous progress of the age. 

INCIDENTS. 

Mr. Charles M. Savage, a resident of Louis- 
ville, Ky., was killed in Paris, during the 
siege, whilst sitting at table with his wife. 
A bombshell was thrown, from a German 
gun, through the window, and striking Mr. 
Savage killed him instantly. 

STERN JUSTICE IN PABIS. 

One of the Generals entrnsted with the 
defence of Pari3, had adopted the very 



122 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



stringent but wholesome measure of execut- 
ing women found acting as Prussian spies. 

He executed three such women, a few 
days prior to the surrender. The other 
generals were beginning to follow suit, when 
the surrender of the city took place, and did 
away with any such necessity. 

One young lady, daughter of M. Yinoes, 
the celebrated wine merchant, was found 
under suspicious circumstances on the out- 
skirts of the town. She was tried, found by 
the court martial guilty, and with two other 
women placed upon the cofiSn. With clasped 
hands she raised her eyes towards heaven, 
and with peaceful resignation awaited the 
signal to fire, but asserting her innocence to 
the last. [See EngravingJ The signal was 
given— one horrible pause, of a moment's 
duration — allowing the soldiers sufficient time 
to inake correct their aim — then came the 
volley of musketry like a clap of thunder, 
and Miss Louise Vinoes fell from the coffin 
a corpse. Had her lover, M. le Crosse, 
possessed any manliness her life might have 
been spared. 

It appears, as was afterwards learned, that 
M. Vinoes had refused M. le Crosse ad- 
mittance to his house, and the lovers were 
obliged to appoint clandestine meetings, and 
had agreed to meet each other at the spot 
where Miss Vinoes was found by the guard. 
M. Vinoes had long since been suspected of 



disloyalty, and consequently the evidence 
was considered, by the court martial con- 
vened, as conclusive. This incident is but 
one among the many invariably associated 
with the horrors of war. 

UISS ROSE CARNIEB AND SISTEB, WHILST 
ATTEMPTINO TO ESCAPE FROM PARIS IN 
A BALLOON, MEET WITH A FBI&HTFUL 
ACCIDENT. 

Miss Rose and Hortense, daughters of M. 
Gamier, well known in Versailles, were in 
Paris during the siege, and during the latter 
part of their stay in that city received news 
by " carrier pigeon " that their father was lying 
dangerously ill, in fact not expected to live. 
They were almost frantic with grief, and their 
helpless situation but added to their sorrow. 
At last they determined to attempt an escape 
from Paris in a, balloon. From this idea their 
friends sought to dissuade them, but with no 
success. Finding an aeronaut, M. Toptoine 
by name, they induced him to take them in 
his balloon. The start was made, and every 
thing appeared to go well, when a sudden 
gust of wind precipitated them from the 
basket, at a height of at least sixty feet. [See 
Engraving.] By some miracle Rose es- 
caped with a fractured limb, but her sister 
Hortense was killed. M. Gamier lived but a 
few days, his death being hastened by the 
news of this sad accident. 




Hon. E. B. Washbubne, U. S. Minister to France, who during the troubles 
in Paris proved himself a Father to all Nationalities. 

^ott. S. S3. 2BafPurttc, amerifattifd^cr ®efant>tcr in ^taritvei^, tec 
wi^rent tcr !Drangfa{e in yaxii flc^ aU 2?ater aUcr 9tationa(itatcn 1>m'^tt(* 



THE FRANCO -GERMAN WAR. 



12S; 



REia]Sr OF TERHOH." 



IHB "beds" unruly — PARTT GOVKRNMBNT 
THB ORDER OF THE DAT — GENERAL CLEMENT 
THOMAS AND GENERAL LECOHTB ASSASSINATED 
BT THE FRENCH SOLDIERS. 

These horrors serve but to remind us of 
tha worst memories of the past. We think 
of the storming of the Bastile, of the July 
horrors, of the September massacres, of the 
Goddess of Reason and the associated blas- 
phemies, of the fusillades, the noyades, the 
guillotine, and all the other horrors — real and 
imaginary — of the Reign of Terror. Another 
Committee of Public Safety, another Danton, 
another Marat, another Robespierre rise up 
before us, and we ask. How is this fresh out- 
burst of revolutionary violence to end ? Are 
we to have another feeble Directory, another 
Consulate, another Empire ? Are new names 
to figure in the destruction of another Direc- 
tory ? Is Gambetta, or some such, to figure 
as a new despot by the special will of the 
French people ? 

During the month of March, 1871, the lo- 
cation of the Capital was under advisement. 
An election was held, and resulted in favor 
of Versailles. M. Thiers, President of the 
Republic, during these outbursts of revolt, 
remained firm, but sorrowful. Had the Corps 
Legislative but listened to him, before this 
war, how much the misery and humiliation 
of the French would have been spared them. 

The Germans occupied Paris but four days. 
They then retired to the forts, leaving the city 
Tinder French rule. By order of Von Moltke, 
40,000 French soldiers were disbanded and 
sent to their homes. The reign of terror 
now began in earnest. The National Guards, 
who were now the only armed force in Paris, 
in obedience to the orders of the Central 
Republican Committee, took up positions in 
various quarters of the city, meeting with no 
resistance. The majority of the National 
Guard were passive and quiet. 

The Gendarmes fired upon the National 
Guard. The latter returned the fire, and 
several of the former were killed and wounded. 
The mob was triumphant, and virtually held 
possession of the city. Drunkenness ram- 
pant ; even women were armed, and the scene 
presented one mass of disorder and profli- 
gacy. 

FBOCLAMATIOKS. 

The Nationals placarded two proclama- 
tions. The first one issued, says the French 
people awaited calmly until an attempt was 
made to touch the life of the Republic. The 
army did not raise its hands against the arch 
of the liberties of the Republic — the only 
Government that can close the era of inva- 
sion and civil war. The people of Paris are 
convoked for Communal elections. The proc- 
lamation is signed by the Central Committee 
of the National Guard, and dated at the Ho- 
tel de Ville. The second proclamation was 
it'S follows :. 



To the People of Paris ."—You have intrusted 
us with the defence of the rights of Paris. 
We have driven out the Government which 
betrayed us. Our mission is fulfilled, and we 
now report to you. Prepare for the Com- 
munal Elections. Give us, as our only re- 
compense, the establishment of a real Repub- 
lic. 

[The same signatures, thirty in number, 
were appended.] 

FBOCLAMATION MINISTERIAL. 

" A proclamation from a Committee as- 
suming the name of the Central Committee 
was distributed throughout Paris. The men 
of the barricades took possession of the Min- 
istry of Justice, and assassinated Gens. Cle- 
ment Thomas and Lecomte. Who are the 
members of the Committee was unknown, as 
is also, what they deliver Paris from. The 
crimes committed by them remove all excuse 
for support by their followers. Let all who 
have regard for the honor and interest of 
France separate from them, and rally around 
the Republic and the Assembly." 

[Signed by the Ministers then in Paris.] 

The Emperor William of Prussia went di- 
rectly to Berlin, where an immense reception 
awaited him. 

The ex-Emperor, Napoleon III., was in 
Dover, England, on the 20th of March, 1871. 

The French situation may be painted in 
one nervous line of Dr. Holmes : " The mob 
of Paris wrings the neck of France." The 
conduct of the people of the great metropo- 
lis went far to destroy any lingering sympa- 
thy for them which might have survived the 
follies and disasters of siege and surrender. 
Of course we cannot blame the good citizens 
for that momentary outbreak of revolt that 
intrenched a few of the Red leaders on the 
Heights of Montmartre; but, in a crisis so 
tremendous, there should have been enough 
of public virtue to isolate and so suffocate 
the mad emeute. On the contrary, the defi- 
ant attitude of the rioters seemed to infect 
the entire populace with the contagion of 
insurrection. The moderate and reasonable 
delay accorded by the Government to allow 
the senseless revolt to lay down its arms, se- 
riously affected the situation for the worse. 

And when, at last, the authorities felt them- 
selves forced to take active measures to dis- 
perse the bands who defied the law on the 
slope of the great hill which bounds Paris on 
the north, the poison of treason had worked 
so far that the National Guards fraternized 
with the rioters, refused to execute their or- 
ders, and gave up their commanders to be 
condemned and butchered by the misguided 
men who pretended to be working in the in- 
terest of a republic of peace and universal 
brotherhood. 



124 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



There is something grotesque in this un- 
conscious mockery of all their professions. 
These insurgents of Montmartre, who are ex- 
hibiting all the tigerish instincts of the un- 
taught, savaee mind, are, in great part, theo- 
rists, idealists, non-resistants, oflRcious phil- 
anthropists. They are men who have suffered 
proscription in Paris in defence of human 
rights. On many platforms they have re- 
newed again and again their devotion to the 
principle of the fraternity of peoples. They 
are the men who overflow in the peace as- 
semblies of Brussels and Geneva in lyric 
apostrophes to the spirit of love and good- 
will. They are not conscious hypocrites, but 
their conduct in these great emergencies is 
too apt to demonstrate that they deceive 
themselves when they imagine they are lov- 
ers of their kind. They are of that unhandy 
and implacable class of reformers for whom, 
as St. Just gloomily said, there is no rest but 
in the grave. They mistake their hatred of 
governments for the love of the people. It 
seems like a sinister farce to think of the 
President of the International League of 
Peace sitting in court-martial behind his bar- 
ricades, and ordering the slaughter of helpless 
prisoners who have done no wrong, who have 
shnply obeyed their orders, and who, only a 
few days ago, were spending their lives on 
the battle-fields of the Republic. These ec- 
centric and morbid growths are seen in the 
track of every great revolution. We had 
them in ours; they haunted the corridors of 
Congress and the halls at Willard's in those 
early days of exaltation when the nation 
threw off its apathy of years and rejoiced in 
its novel emotions. But with us they gained 
no authority. They might have presented 
that mixture of tiger^nd ape which is so re- 
volting in days of terror at Paris, if they had 
only gained credit enough. But we had the 
good fortune to see only the apish tri(jks that 
lasted a little while and went out of sight. 
The nation is doomed to imperfect develop- 
ment that cannot keep this pestilent vermin 
under. 

'I'hey do not constitute the Republican 
party. They form but a small and insignifi- 
cant minority, but, so far as appears, there is 
enough of the yeast of treason in their num- 
bers to set the entire community in fermen- 
tation. This is the consideration which sad- 
dens the true friends of freedom all over the 
world ; that, though the moderate Republi- 
cans are the greater number, though the 
Government is nominally in the hands of the 
soundest and wisest men in France, there is 
so little of true loyalty in the popular mind 
that the first spark of revolt sets the town on 
fire, and paralyzes the Government in its 
functions. For days the mob possessed Paris. 



The militia refuse to obey their commanders; 
The emeute pushed down from the hill of 
Montmartre into the heart of the city, seized' 
the Headquarters of the Army of Paris in 
the Place VendQme, and thence the inundat- 
ing tide poured across the bridges of the 
Seine, seizing the Hotel de Ville, and most 
of the Ministries. The wine-shops alone were 
open. Hordes of bacchants thronged the 
frightened streets — men and women mingled 
in the dishevelled licence of anarchy. The 
murder of Gens. Clement Thomas and Le- 
comte by the cowardly ingrates they have 
fought for is most disgraceful. The Govern- 
ment, finding the army and the militia un- 
trustworthy as broken reeds, moved to Ver- 
sailles, leaving the Capital in the bloody 
hands of the mob. To show the utter hope- 
lessness of the situation, it was announced 
that the Diplomatic Body, headed by Mr. 
Washburne, who stayed unflinchingly by the 
city after Sedan, after the investment, when 
pinched by hunger, when stormed with shell, 
has at last resolved to leave the ill-starred' 
town and follow the Government precipitately 
to Versailles. The outside world shakes from 
its feet the dust of Paris, and gives the beau- 
tiful city over to be buffeted of the devils that; 
possess it. 

There was to be the pretence of a Commu- 
nal election, but, with the city in the power 
of the people of the side-walk, it is not diffi- 
cult to foresee what will be the result of such 
an appeal to the polls. There was an omi- 
nous agitation communicating itself to the 
cities of the interior, which might burst out 
any moment in open revolution. There is 
a sympathy between Paris and her sisters of 
the provinces as quick and delicate as the^ 
action of the telegraph, and, at a time like 
this, it is only to be exerted for evil. Alto- 
gether, the disaster is so great, that all those 
which went before are as nothing in compari- 
son. The sufferings of the siege were re- 
lieved by the cheerful pluck with which they 
were endured. The surrender of Sedan was- 
promptly used and redeemed by the procla- 
mation of the dechiance Even the terrible 
penalties imposed by the treaty of peace 
might have been turned into blessings, if 
they had been accepted with courageous and 
manly hearts. But to this misfortune and 
discredit there is no compensation. This 
emeute was not needed — not provoked — it has 
no intention for good — it is inspired by a sav- 
age lust of disorder. Its temporary success 
has endangered the future of the Republic. . 
It opens the door to a situation so hjtolerable 
that the populace which weakly followed these 
madcaps into revolt will soon be ready to hail 
the most crushing despotism as a means of' 
escape from themselvea. 



THE END. 




COUNT VON BISMARCK. 

®raf tias IStlmarif. 



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